Thief’s Treasure
by PasifiKStaR
Summary: COMPLETE! AU Warring families result in Squall's arranged marriage. He goes to find a treasure to use as a dowry on a ship captained by a girl running away from her own arranged marriage. SqR, IrvSel, SeQu
1. One Last Taste Of Freedom

**Thief's Treasure**  
_Chapter One: One Last Taste of Freedom_  
By PasifiKStaR

Author's Note: Yet another boring story from me. Sorry if it's too long and slow. I'm just bored and wanted to write something. Like in my last story, other Final Fantasy characters will be serving as minor characters with their little cameos. It's just easier for me that way. -_-;;

*All Standard Disclaimers Apply - I do not own Final Fantasy or it's characters. 

* * *

"There you are," a voice sighed from the door way. "I thought you'd be in here." The spiky haired blond waited to be recognized, but never was. The young man laying on the couch, with a book in his hand didn't seem to even care that he was there. 

"Zell, did you find him?" a voice asked behind the blond. Zell turned around and saw a young man wearing a cowboy hat walking towards him. "He wasn't in the library." 

"Yeah, I found him," Zell sighed. The tall brunette in the hat walked up behind Zell and looked over his head. He rolled his eyes at the sight. "I wonder if he's awake..." 

As if to answer him, the brown haired young man on the couch raised his hand and turned a page. The tall brunette behind Zell snickered. "Yeah, he's just ignoring us." 

"I'll turn on the lights," Zell sighed with a shake of his head. "Irvine, you try to get his attention." As the blond headed towards the light switch, Irvine walked over to the front of the ornately carved, Victorian style couch where a blue eyed brunette laid casually reading a book as a fire roared in the hearth across the room. 

Up until Zell flipped the switch, the fire place's glow had been the only source of light in the tiny, out of the way lounge where the blue eyed brunette laid comfortably. "Squall," Irvine said with a frown as he crouched down. "Squall, your dad is looking for you." 

Squall kept his blue eyes pasted on the leather book resting on his stomach as he leaned back against three large pillows. "Whatever," he mumbled. *Does it LOOK like I care?* He knew what was going on downstairs. He could hear the piano music floating up from the ball room and into the out of the room he had sought shelter in. 

Irvine groaned. "Come on, Squall, you know this is important," Irvine looked desperate as he looked at his friend. "Just go. It won't kill you to just show up for a few minutes." 

Squall raised his cold blue eyes to meet Irvine's green eyed plea. "I'm not going." he said, plain and simple. 

"Why not!?" Zell whined behind him. He stood behind the couch and looked at Squall, who returned to reading his book. "How can THIS possibly be more interesting than...than..." 

"Than checking out the best of the blue blood daughters!?" Irvine exclaimed tiredly. He stood up. "What are you reading anyway!?" He grabbed the book from Squall's hand and red the cover. His eyes squinted as he re-read the title. "'Foundations in the History of Chocobos'!?" He dropped the book and glared at Squall. "Have you gone insane!?" 

Squall merely looked at him. "Did you know that you can capture chocobos in the forest with flutes?" 

*Hyne, he has gone crazy.* Irvine and Zell stared at him in disbelief. Slowly, their heads lifted and shocked eyes met. It seemed that would have to resort to the only person who could talk some sense into their friend. "ELLONE!!" 

Downstairs, a young woman was talking to some guests when she heard the cry upstairs. At first, she looked surprised, but quickly placed a smile back on her face as she turned to the guests. "Excuse me for one moment," she smiled elegantly. "I believe I forgot something upstairs!" 

"Of course, Ellone," the busty brunette with the long dark brown hair said. "I'll talk to you in a bit." 

Ellone bowed her head slightly and side stepped the other young woman. She immediately headed for the stairs that lead up to the upper levels of Esthar's Presidential Palace, where she had spent much of her life since her uncle and adoptive father was given control of the technologically advanced nation. 

However, for her uncle's only son and her adoptive brother, the massive and elaborate palace had been nothing more than a gilded cage. *Perhaps that's why he ran off to Balamb Garden military school...* she thought to herself. Quietly she ascended the stairs and turned a corner. She heard Squall's two best friends yelling at him to get off his 'lazy ass' and mingle. She couldn't help but smile. She always enjoyed watching them argue back and forth like children. 

"This whole party is for you!" Irvine gasped out as Zell paced the room nervously behind him. "I mean, all of Esthar's high and mighty have come to pay you homage." 

"You and Dr. K's daughter, anyway," Zell said. He sighed happily. "Man, how I envy you... getting married to a great girl like that..." 

"I don't even KNOW her." Squall mumbled stubbornly. 

"Which is why you should take this opportunity to!" Irvine cut in energetically. 

"Squall, what are you doing in here?" a voice asked from the door way. Zell and Irvine turned around and let out sighs of relief. 

"Sorry, Ellone," Irvine said, shaking his head. "But we tried." He and Zell stepped aside as the young woman with the short brown hair walked into the cozy room. 

Ellone looked from the two young soldiers, who were considered Squall's best friends, to Squall. She frowned and walked over. Her sky blue, off the shoulder dress trailed behind her as her shoulder length brown hair was accented with sky blue crystal clasps behind each temple. She knelt down and looked at Squall. 

"I know you don't want to do this," she told him sternly. "But it means a lot to the family." 

"Everything means a lot to the family," Squall grumbled. "I'm used to that by now." 

She took his hand in hers. "Please, Squall," she pleaded. "At least make an appearance. The Kadowaki family took pains to get here all the way from western Esthar." 

Squall avoided her gaze stubbornly. "I don't want to marry her, Sis." 

Ellone closed her eyes and let his hand go gently. "I know, Squall," she whispered. "I don't want you to marry her either...but in these times..." she trailed off, shaking her head. "We don't have a choice." 

Squall remained where he was laying on the couch, staring into thin air. Wealthy families were at war. Families like his who were not of noble blood, but were so damn powerful, they might as well have been. For generations, there had been tension between the Loire family and the Heartilly Family - two of the most powerful families in the world. 

It was all supposed to change when Laguna fell in love with Julia. When Squall's father fell in love with the daughter of a dominating family in the entertainment world. The Loires were a political family and had been so for generations. While it was agreed that peace could be established if Laguna married Julia, issues arose that prevented them from getting married. 

In desperation, they ran away together. And while on a ship back to Esthar, they hit a storm and Julia drowned. When word was received, the Heartilly family flew into a mad rage. They believed that Julia had been tricked by Laguna and that he caused her to drown. At that, the Heartilly family declared war on the Loires. 

Years later, the war between two families continued to remain a force to be reckoned with. Other families were divided by the war. Businesses effected. Industries crushed and rebuilt. All of high society had to take a side, it didn't matter if they agreed or disagreed. All that mattered was that they gain an ally else sink into a pit of despair they could never escape. After the war was declared, the Loires needed allies. What better way to get them than marrying off their children to the children of other families. What better way for the Loires to gain a powerful ally in the medical world than by marrying off Laguna's son to the daughter of an extraordinary doctor? 

Squall looked back at Ellone. He knew who would be effected if he did not marry her. They would loose a powerful ally. And his sister, who had cared for him so much after his mother died at his birth, would be forced to marry into another family. That was the reason he had agreed. To spare her the trauma of marrying a man she didn't love. It would be easier for him, he figured. 

He let out a sigh and stood up. He never told Ellone the reason he had agreed. He never told her what the family elders had threatened if he refused to marry. Because he knew, that like he would for her, she would gladly trade in her happiness for his. "Let's go." he conceded. 

Ellone let out a sigh of relief. He had been worrying her lately. She had an extraordinary ability to read minds, a trait found in one out of ten generations of women in her family. However, lately, whenever she tried to find out what was troubling him, he would immediately shut her out. As she watched him leave the room, dressed in a sharp black suit with a dark blue tie over a charcoal gray shirt, she frowned. *Hyne...why won't you tell me what's wrong?* 

Squall walked down the stairs with Irvine and Zell behind him, both dressed in suits, although Irvine still wore his black cowboy hat. Squall looked down at the elegantly dressed people, lost in a world of bright lights and money. As soon as he reached the floor, Laguna's eyes lit up and he quickly rushed over to his son. "Squall! Oh, thank Hyne, you came!" 

"Let's just get this over with." the brunette grumbled. Laguna nodded and motioned for them to follow him through the crowds. With a scowl on his face, Squall wove in and out of high society, giving nods as people congratulated him. 

As they dove deeper and deeper into the bunched up groups, they finally arrived in front of a powerful looking woman dressed in deep purples from head to toe. Her dark hair was held back tightly as she turned to look at them. She carried an air of sophistication and seemed quite assured of herself as Laguna and Squall approached her. "Good evening, Squall," the woman told him collectedly. "I see you're just as Laguna promised." She extended her hand as her eyes scanned the young man up and down. 

*What exactly did Laguna promise?* Squall though to himself bitterly as he took the doctor's extended and kissed the back of it. 

"Where is your daughter, doctor?" Laguna asked. 

"She had to return home earlier," Dr. Kadowaki explained. "Stomach pains. I don't want to take any chances, so I sent her home." 

"Oh..." Laguna said, unable to hide his disappointment. 

"I'm sorry I was unable to meet her this time, Dr. Kadowaki," Squall told her in a dead pan voice. "Perhaps some other time then." 

"Yes, well, I would like to speak to you on the matters of this marriage previous to 'some other time'," Dr. Kadowaki stated. "If that is possible." 

"of course, doctor," Laguna nodded. "Whenever you wish to discuss it-" 

"Now is as good a time as any," the doctor told them. "I'm sure we will not be missed much." 

"I'll have Ellone entertain the guests," the President of Esthar nodded. He looked at his son. "Squall, please take Dr. Kadowaki to my study. I'll meet you there." 

Squall merely gave a curt nod and turned to the doctor as Laguna went to search for the brown haired girl. "Please follow me, doctor," he stated calmly. Kadowaki placed her wine glass on the tray of a an waiter as she passed them. Through the crowds and into the dimly lit hall, Kadowaki and Squall ended up in front of a heavy, dark door. 

The young man turned the brass knob, letting them in. He reached over and flipped the switch, making the neatly organized study visible. "Tell me Squall," Kadowaki stated as she stood in the oval, book lined room. "What makes you think you are worthy of marrying my daughter?" 

"Nothing makes me worthy of such an honor," Squall stated, as if it had been rehearsed so many times. He didn't bat an eye as he spoke, but looked directly into the doctor's eyes. "I apologize if I am not worthy enough." 

Kadowaki narrowed her eyes. "Bull," she stated. "You say it as if it were true. I will tell you something right now. In my eyes, you will never be good enough for my daughter. You do not even deserve to be in the same room as she." 

*Is that why you sent her away?* Squall voiced in his mind. He continued to stand there, straight as if he were being given military orders. 

"Doctor Kadowaki," a voice said from the door. The doctor looked up and saw Laguna walk into the room, closing the heavy doors behind him. "Is there some sort of problem?" 

"I'll be blunt with you, Loire," Kadowaki began. "Your son isn't worthy of my daughter. I believe I can find a better match for her." 

Laguna's eyes went wide with panic. "Now, Dr. Kadowaki...let's not be too brash," he began. "Both you and I know that this is a good match." 

Kadowaki's eyes met Laguna's in a stern gaze. "I want him to prove it." 

"Prove it?" Laguna asked, looking confused as he stood in front of the woman. "How?" 

"I want him to provide a dowry for my daughter." 

"But we're already providing a-" Laguna began, but Kadowaki raised her hand to silence him. 

"No, Loire," she corrected. "I want SQUALL to provide the dowry himself. I don't want him receive any help in attaining a dowry." 

"Wait a second!" Laguna gasped out, annoyed. "How can you say that? The dowry we are giving is worth so much already! You cannot get any better dowry from any other family!" 

"This isn't about material worth," Kadowaki snapped. Her eyes settled on Squall. "I want the boy to be able to show that he can stand on his own and thus care fully for my daughter." 

"As plausible as that is," Laguna countered. "How can you possibly expect him to get another dowry on his own? His capita is far less than the dowry we are giving." 

"He must find it on his own-" 

"With WHAT!?" Laguna exclaimed. 

Squall stood there, watching the two adults banter back and forth about the issue at hand. *It's like I'm not even here...* he thought to himself. *It's like they're bargaining for the best deal while buying fruit...* His hand clenched at his sides. *I am NO fruit!* 

"I am not saying that he has to get himself killed-" 

"I'll do it." 

"You expect him to go running out into..." Laguna trailed off and turned to look at the shorter man standing quietly to the side. "What...?" 

"I said I will go and 'prove' myself." Squall explained casually. 

The corners of Kadowaki's lips curled into a smile. "Is that so?" 

"Squall, you do not have to go through with this-" Laguna began. 

"I'm already going through with the marriage," Squall snapped at his father. He narrowed his eyes. "I might as well go through the whole damn thing." 

Laguna was silenced. He turned his eyes away as Kadowaki stepped up in front of Squall. "What do you propose you will give as her dowry?" 

Squall looked up at the doctor, meeting their arrogant gaze with one of his own. "While I was in Balamb Garden, I heard several rumors about the lost treasures of Garnet...the Thief's Treasure. Are you familiar with the story, doctor?" 

Looking interested, Kadowaki crossed her arms over her chest. "No, I'm afraid I am not. Please enlighten me." 

"Thousands of years ago, the ancient kingdom of Garnet was marrying their daughter Sara to one of their knights, Cecil. However Sara was in love with a thief. The king loved his daughter so much, that he would allow the thief to marry her if the thief provided a dowry that could beat that of the knight's. Long story short, he did, but the ships carrying them back were lost at sea. Supposedly, one ship ended up in the Island Closest to Hell and the other ended up in the Island Closest to Heaven," Squall told them. He smirked slightly. "How would you like the largest dowry in the history of the world?" 

Kadowaki raised an eyebrow and looked at Squall strangely. "Do you seriously believe that you can find the thief's treasure?" 

"I believe I can." Squall told her confidently. 

Kadowaki looked at Laguna, who looked more than stunned as he stood there. Smiling, Kadowaki extended her hand. "I expect nothing less for my daughter's hand than the thief's treasure." 

Squall shook the doctor's hand. "It is agreed then." 

* * *

"What are you thinking!?" Laguna cried out as he stood up from his chair and stared at his son in disbelief. "I mean...WHY? What in your mind possessed you to agree to her demands!? It was completely unnecessarily!" 

"Laguna, calm down," Kiros stated as he and Ward stood on either side of Laguna's desk, making sure the long haired president didn't have a heart attack and die right there. "I'm sure Squall has his reasons." 

"Yes!" Ellone agreed from where she was sitting on the couch to the side. Her eyes went wide as she nodded enthusiastically and looked at Squall. "Right, Squall?" 

Squall shrugged. "Oh, Hyne..." Laguna fell back into his seat and closed his eyes tightly. "We could've talked her down, Squall...you don't have to prove yourself to anyone." 

Irvine looked up from the couch across from Ellone, where he and Zell had been sitting. "Prove yourself?" Irvine asked, sitting up straight as he narrowed his eyes. "What are you talking about?" 

Ellone shook her head. "Dr. Kadowaki wants Squall to prove that he is good enough for her daughter by providing a dowry by himself." 

"I thought a dowry has already been prepared," Zell said. "Wasn't it?" He looked around the room nervously. 

"She wants a dowry that Squall accomplished by himself," Kiros explained. "Meaning no help from the family. No help from outside forces. He must come up with it himself." 

"How is he going to do that?" Zell asked. 

Laguna looked up at his son, who carried an unamused smile on his face. "He's going after the Thief's Treasure." 

Irvine's eyes went wide as Ellone let out a gasp and dropped the shawl around her shoulders. "Squall, have you gone mad!?" Ellone said as she shot out of her seat and walked to her brother. "That treasure doesn't even exist!" 

"It's too late for that," Kiros sighed. "It seems that now Kadowaki will refuse anything that isn't the Thief's Treasure." 

"Maybe it's not too late," Laguna stammered. "Maybe we can still CALL Kadowaki and try to sort through this." 

"She says she wants nothing less than the thief's treasure for her daughter." Squall stated, crushing all hopes his father had. 

"How much is the treasure worth?" Irvine asked. 

"No one knows for sure," Kiros explained with a heavy sigh. "It hasn't been seen for thousands of years." 

"Supposedly it's priceless," Squall shrugged. "What's the problem? I find it. I get married. End of the story." 

"Squall, you know you have to on a SHIP for that sort of search, right?" Ellone asked. "I mean..." she chuckled nervously. "You really don't INTEND to go on a ship, do you?" 

"If that's the way to get it, then I'll go on a ship." 

Laguna let out a deep breath and ran his hand through his long dark hair. "Squall, you KNOW that all the merchant vessels and cruise liners and such are all siding with the Heartilly family." 

"No one is going to hire out to you..." Ellone ended sadly. "If they do, they'll be faced with the same threat from the Heartilly family as we are." 

"I doubt that every single ship out there is so loyal to the Heartillys that they won't hire out to me," Squall stated. He turned around and headed for the door. "And even if there is just ONE ship, I'll find it." 

"Squall!" Laguna called out desperately. It was too late, the brunette had already opened the door and stepped out. Laguna fell back on his seat, a forlorn look on his face. 

"We'll go talk to him!" Zell said as he and Irvine hurried out the door after Squall. 

Ellone looked back at her uncle with a distressed look. "You're not really going to allow him to go, are you, Uncle?" she asked. "He could get killed just by setting foot on the docks!" 

Laguna stared at the door and let out a heavy sigh. "Unfortunately, Ellone...you know that once Squall's mind is made up...it pretty much stays that way." 

In the hall way, Squall was turning a corner and heading for the stairs to his room. Irvine and Zell were at his heels, beckoning for him to slow down a bit. "Squall!" Zell shouted. 

"Squall, what the hell's wrong with you!?" Irvine gasped. He ran up the stairs and cut Squall off by standing right in front of him with his arms open to block his path. "First you agree to marry Kadowaki's daughter, then you say that you don't want to, and now you're going to go PROVE yourself worthy!?" 

"It doesn't make any sense!" Zell exclaimed as he joined Irvine on the step above where Squall was standing. 

The scarred blue eyed brunette looked up at them with cold eyes. "You don't get it do you?" Squall stated. 

Irvine slowly dropped his arms as he studied Squall with narrowed eyes. "What do you mean?" 

Shaking his head, Squall side stepped the two other young men and continued up the stairs. "I'm not proving myself to anyone." 

Zell's eyes went wide and he and Irvine looked at each other. "Then that means..." They turned back to their other friend and raced up the stairs. "Wait!!" 

Squall was already in the hallway that lead to his room as Zell and Irvine followed behind him. "You're not thinking of running away, are you!?" 

"Of course not," Squall hissed. *Else Ellone is doomed...* 

"Then what do you mean you're not proving yourself to anyone?" Zell called out. 

They were now in front of his room and Squall turned around as he opened the door. He looked his two friends straight in the eye. "This is my last taste at freedom. Do you think that after I'm married, I can run off like before? I'm not stupid," Squall hissed. "I know what lies for me after I'm wed. It'll be non stop politics and all that dramatic shit!" 

"So you're restless!?" Irvine snapped. "That's one hell of a bad reason, Squall." 

"You don't understand," Squall growled. "You have no idea what goes on behind this...this facade of high society! Lies and deceit...that's all it is." 

Zell frowned. "It's not all like that, Squall..." 

"It's still a bad reason," Irvine mumbled. He shook his head disapprovingly. "I thought at the least, that you would do something like this to prove your worth, your honor, and maybe that you're willing to learn to love HER." 

"You can interpret it any way you damn well please," Squall stated blandly. "But I'm going to take a train to the docks tomorrow to find a ship that can take us to the Islands." 

"Wait..." Zell said. The blond squinted his eyes. "Did you just say 'us'?" Squall raised an eyebrow and Zell swallowed. "Us is good." 

"Never mind that for a second," Irvine cut in. He looked at Squall with scrutiny. "What are the chances that we'll find a ship that will take us to BOTH islands? The percent of ships that are willing to go those distances is already small. You're making it even smaller if you take into consideration that maritime travel and trade are dominated by the Heartilly family!" 

"And you being the heir to the Loire-" 

"I'm a Leonheart, not a Loire." Squall corrected Zell. 

"It doesn't matter what your last name is," Irvine stated simply. "The fact is that you're Laguna's SON. That automatically black lists you!" 

"If there is a single ship that will be willing to take me to both islands out there, rest assured that I will find it," Squall said behind gritted teeth. "Tomorrow at dawn. Be ready." He closed his door. 

Zell and Irvine stood there, dumbfounded. Irvine slowly removed his hat and scratched the back of his head. "Tomorrow then?" he asked. 

Zell nodded. "See you then." 

* * *

The night was deep and dark as her hands gripped on the rope at the stern of the ship. The ocean breeze swept through her hair as she smiled at the sight of land ahead of them. Small lights lined the horizon as the sea port of Esthar came into view. 

The small ship cut through the dark ocean waters at speeds surprising for it's size. It left ripples behind it as dolphins leapt from the water as they swam close to the ship, riding on it's draft. Along the metal sides of the ship, it's name was written in elegant cursive writing. _Siren_. The young woman at the front of the ship inhaled the salty sea air. 

"All right," a voice said behind her as she stared out at the sea. "Tomorrow I'm going to head out to the port to order some supplies. Do you need anything?" 

"Well...I do need-" 

"Hell no," the male voice behind her cut her off. She could sense the frown on his face. "I refuse to buy you girls those damn things again. It was embarrassing the last time." 

"We're fine with those," she assured him as she rolled her eyes. "You bought them in bulk..." 

"No need to remind me, CAPTAIN." His voice dripped with sarcasm, but she had long grown used to it. 

"The girls and I are going diving then," she reminded him. "We'll be back in the afternoon." 

"I'll have dinner ready and waiting." he commented. She nodded. 

"Hey, wait," she turned around and her brown eyes met his green ones. "Whose going to watch the ship?" 

"I am, ya know!" a voice said from the steering wheel of the small ship. She nodded. 

"Sounds good," she agreed. "I'm going to bed. Can you wake me up when we hit the docks?" 

"Sure thing, ya know!" the large, smiling man at the steering wheel bid the young woman good night as she headed below deck. 

"I hope we find work," the blond male sighed as he stood next to the darker skinned man. "We can really use the money." 

"Don't worry, ya know," the man smiled. "The captain's senses never are wrong." 

The other male merely smiled. "Yeah," he sighed heavily. "She can't understand nautical terms for the life of her, but she's a good captain." 

* * *

The air was cold, damp, and misty. The stench of the sea surrounded them as they arrived at the train station close to the harbor. The sound of gulls flying in the hazy air rang as fog horns sounded in the distance. Irvine looked around suspiciously. It had taken them quite some time to finally reach the harbor, even though they had left early that morning. 

Behind him, Zell looked around and inhaled the crisp sea air appreciatively. "I have to admit, it's refreshing." 

"Forget that," Squall stated as he stepped off the train behind them, wearing a dark leather jacket with a soft, fluff lined collar. "Let's head over to the main station." 

"The main station won't tell you!" Irvine sighed. Squall scowled at him and Irvine grinned. "We head to the bar." 

"The bar." Squall repeated hesitantly. 

"You want to get drunk already?" Zell asked innocently. Irvine hit Zell's shoulder and frowned. 

"Damn naive rich boys..." Irvine sighed. He stood in front of both of them. "Think about it like this. Squall walks into the main registration station and asks for a ship to take him to the Islands. The station attendant asks for his name and he says 'Squall Leonheart'. Squall is then happily escorted OUT of the station for even thinking of setting foot on to Heartilly territory. And, ta-da, no ship." 

Zell crossed his arms. "And how is going to a bar going to help? Will being drunk lessen the pain of getting escorted out?" 

"If you want a ship that doesn't have ties to the Heartilly family, then it's best that you go to the bar," Irvine grinned. "The sleazier the better. They'll have the information we need." 

"I see," Squall agreed. "Since you know, you go ahead and take us to one." 

Irvine looked slightly surprised. "How am I supposed to know where one is?" 

"Because you know the sleazy underworld better than us," Zell grinned. "Lead the way, oh sleazy master." 

Irvine rolled his eyes and turned around. "Shut up and follow me," he grumbled. "Try to stay away from sailors. They tend to be very loyal to Heartilly." 

"And how would you know about all of this, Irvine?" Zell asked. 

"Remember when we went to Fisherman's Horizon and I came back to the inn with a few bruises...?" Irvine trailed off. "Let's just say that being Squall's friend isn't easy." 

"Why didn't you tell me about that?" Squall asked as he walked next to his friends. 

"Some things are best left unsaid," Irvine assured him. He smirked. "Besides, those sailors didn't leave all pretty either." 

As they walked down the docks, the afternoon haze started to thin out. A spot of light could be see sinking into the horizon as they reached a bar standing in front of the piers. Decorated in stereotypical fish nets and dried star fish, it pumped out an aura of seediness. "This looks like as good a place as any," Zell said. He looked at Irvine and Squall. "Who goes first?" 

Irvine shoved Zell through the doors and followed after him as the blond struggled to keep his balance as he tumbled in. Squall entered and looked around. The smell of smoke and alcohol flooded his senses as the dirty bar was made up of crooks and drifters. Half naked women were draped over several gamblers as in the back corner, a pool table was taken up by several people. Cheesy piano music echoed in the background. 

"Holy sh-" 

Irvine covered Zell's mouth and nodded in acceptance. He walked over to the bar where a well built blonde man with blue eyes was pouring whiskey into shot glasses. "I'm looking for a ship." 

"Very original," the bartender snorted as he handed the shot glasses to a waitress. "Take a step outside and take your pick." 

Irvine looked around and smiled slightly. Zell and Squall had taken a seat in a corner table. As Zell looked around and ordered a drink, Squall sat there brooding. Anyone who dared look at him got a deadly glare shot right back at them. Irvine turned back to the bartender and tossed down a few gil. "I need a ship to take us to the forbidden islands." 

The bartender reached over and took the gil. He looked up at Irvine. "What else?" 

Irvine took a deep breath and put a few more gil down on the wooden, alcohol soaked counter. "Make sure they're non-affiliated. Do you understand?" 

"Afraid I don't." the bartender grinned, taking the gil and turning around. 

Irvine took out a wad of gil and slammed it on the counter, making the bartender turn around and smirk. "I think you do." 

"You can keep your money, boy," the bartender told him. "It's no use. Ain't no ship that docks here be willing to be hired out under those circumstances." 

"There must be one-" 

"Ain't no ship..." the bartender insisted. Glaring, Irvine grabbed the wad of cash and stuffed it back into his jacket pocket. 

"If you hear anything..." 

"Yeah, sure." The bartender chuckled. Irvine stood up and walked over to the table where Squall and Zell were sitting. 

"Nothing," Irvine said. "Let's move on." 

Without saying a word, the other two stood up and headed towards the door after the cowboy. The bartender watched them leave and walked over to the other end of the bar where a man was sitting hunched over. "You heard them?" 

"Thanks." the man's deep voice smirked. He looked up at the bartender with green eyes and slipped him some money. He chugged back his drink and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand as he stood up and slipped off the stool. 

Outside, Zell was looking around. "What about that one?" he pointed to a building. 

Irvine shook his head. "That's a whore house." 

"Oh..." Zell blushed and pointed in the other direction at another building. "How about that one, then?" 

"That's...also a whore house," Irvine mumbled. He looked at Zell questioningly. "Are you trying to tell us something, Zell?" 

"No!" Zell gasped. He threw his arms in the air. "How am I supposed to know where to go?!" 

"How about that one?" Squall asked, pointing a bar at one end of the docks. Irvine looked over at it and shook his head. 

"Not seedy enough." 

"That one looks pretty seedy." Zell commented. Squall and Irvine looked at the bar Zell was pointing at before looking back at him with strange looks. 

"That's the one we were just in." Squall stated. 

"Hyne, Zell! Where's your sense of direction?" Irvine gasped. 

"Chicken-wuss had a sense of direction? We'll, I'm surprised!" a voice laughed to their side. All three of them turned as they saw a young man with combed back blonde hair and green eyes walking towards them. He was carrying a heavy bag over his shoulder as a scar ran up between his eyes. 

"No fucking way..." Irvine began, taking a step back as his eyes went wide. 

"What the hell are you doing here!" Zell gasped. "I thought you were kicked out!" 

The blond rolled his eyes. "Your sense of direction must be really bad...we're no where NEAR Balamb Garden." 

"What are you doing here, Seifer?" Irvine hissed as he glared at the blond. 

Seifer shrugged. "Just stopping for supplies," he said casually, lifting up the bag over his shoulder. "Can't run out of food while out at sea, right?" 

Zell looked at Seifer and cracked a smile. He was wearing baggy pants and a loose dark shirt under a worn, long white jacket with red crosses on his sleeves. "So what are you now? A fisherman?" 

"Fitting," Irvine grinned as he crossed his arms over his chest. "You always cut class to go fishing with those other two..." 

"But I'd never thought I would see the day when Mr. High and Mighty Gun Blader would be reduced to this." Zell grinned. 

Seifer snorted and shook his head. "I may not be a little rich boy, but at least I'm not depending on mommy and daddy for help." Seifer snapped. 

Zell took a step forward and raised his fists. "What's that supposed to mean!?" 

Seifer rolled his eyes. "Oh please...you know what it means." Seifer sighed. 

Zell grumbled and took another step forward, but Squall held him back with one arm. "Why did you show up all of a sudden?" Squall asked. 

"I didn't 'show up'," Seifer corrected him. "My ship's docked to get supplies. I saw you three and just couldn't resist jerking chicken-wuss' chain again." 

"I hate you so much..." Zell hissed. 

"Oh boo fucking hoo," Seifer shrugged. "You think I give a damn?" 

Before Zell could answer, Squall stepped forward. "Wait, you said you have a ship?" 

"It's a small little thing, but it's a fast and strong," Seifer grinned. He knew exactly what Squall wanted, but wasn't about to give it to him easily. "And I'm not a fisherman, by the way, I'm a courier." 

Squall narrowed his eyes. "Do you rent out?" 

Irvine and Zell's eyes went wide as they turned to Squall. "What the-!?" Irvine looked at Seifer, who was grinning, and grabbed Squall's arm. He dragged him and Zell over to the side. "Squall, are you insane!? That's SEIFER...Seifer! The man that gave you this!" He ran his finger over the skin between his eyes. 

"He has a ship," Squall said. "As of right now, that's all I'm interested in," Squall moved away from them and looked back at Seifer. "Well, do you?" 

Seifer jerked his head up at Squall. "How much you offering?" 

"Name your price." 

"How much you got?" 

"2.5 million gil." 

"SQUALL!!" Irvine and Zell nearly screamed. They grabbed him once again and dragged him into a huddle. 

Zell's eyes were wide as he looked at his friend. "You are offering him 2.5 million gil! That's like HALF of what you have!" 

"We need a ship." he stated. 

"That's too much! Especially to give to HIM of all people!" Zell added. 

"He's right," Irvine agreed. "That's way too much money!" 

"Unless YOU have and know how to captain a ship, then shut up," Squall snapped. He pulled away from them and walked over to Seifer. "Is that enough?" 

Seifer studied Squall and grinned. "Well, we'll just have to see, won't we?" the blond smiled. "Follow me." 

Still smirking triumphantly, Seifer walked around the cowboy and the tattooed blond. Squall followed behind him. "Squall!" Zell gasped. He and Irvine hurried to catch up. 

"So where is this ship of yours?" Irvine said as they walked down the docks and headed towards one of the piers. 

"It's up ahead," Seifer answered casually. He held the bag of food over his shoulder as he lead them down a pier. "So where are you headed?" 

"The islands closest to heaven and hell," Zell mumbled as they passed massive iron ships. "Can you do it?" 

"I've got the best navigator around," Seifer answered. "What for?" 

Zell was about to answer, but Squall spoke up. "That's none of your business," he snapped. He narrowed his blue eyes. "Where is your ship?" 

"Right there." Seifer stopped and pointed to the iron boat floating between two much larger ones. Irvine's mouth dropped. 

"You've got to be kidding me..." Irvine mumbled in disbelief. 

"Can that hunk of scrap metal even get OUT of the harbor!?" Zell gasped as he stared at it in disbelief. The ship couldn't have been more than a few hundred square feet. It was obviously made up of several decks, but seemed older compared to the ships that surrounded it. Older and more decrepit. 

"Don't let it's appearance fool you," Seifer snorted. "She's faster than she looks." 

"SHE?" Irvine asked. He looked at the side of the boat at it's name. _Siren_. *Someone's been at sea a little TOO long...* 

"Raijin!" Seifer shouted as they reached it's side. "Drop a plank down!" 

A big man looked over board and waved. "Hey! You brought company, ya know! Hold on a second while I get the plank, ya know!" A panel on the side of the ship opened and a heavy wooden board was lowered. 

Seifer jumped on it and headed up. When he realized that there were no footsteps behind him, he turned around. "Are you coming or are you afraid of getting sea sick?" 

Zell narrowed his eyes and ran up the plank with ease as Squall and Irvine walked up behind him. Seifer was on deck. "Raijin, you remember the cowboy, commander puberty, and chicken-wuss," Seifer said as he put the sack of food down. "We might have a job." 

"Oh, good! The captain will be glad to hear that, ya know!" Raijin nodded as he smiled and took the sack from Seifer. "I'll put these in the kitchen, ya know." 

"The captain...?" Irvine asked. He looked at Seifer who was walking across the ship to the other side. "I thought YOU were the captain." 

"I never said I was." 

"But you kept calling it 'your' ship," Zell said. "You're just an employee?" 

Seifer sighed and unlatched a door that lead to the side of the boat. "I'm the fucking cook, all right?" 

"The COOK!?" Zell and Irvine chorused. Highly amused grins crossed their faces as they burst into laughter. "The great Seifer! Reduced to being the cook of a crappy ship!" 

Seifer rolled his eyes. "Chicken-wuss, you still single?" 

"Yeah, so!?" Zell asked between gasps of laughter. 

Seifer grinned and stepped back from the side panel. "Well, while you've been living it up with the cowboy and commander puberty, I've been living here...with THEM." 

Zell tilted his head to the side in question as two pale hands gripped the side of the boat and white hair, soaked with sea water appeared. A pale woman with lovely features pulled herself up on the boat as her black eye patch dripped with water. She wore a black one piece swim suit that clung perfectly to her body as she merely gave them a look, as if to ask what they were doing there. 

"Seifer?" she asked, turning to the blond and motioning her head over to the three men. 

Seifer just smiled and shrugged. "Customers," She nodded and bent over the edge, taking someone else's hand and helping them up. "You three remember Fujin...oh, and this one is Selphie." 

Petite and wearing a yellow two piece, the brunette was pulled up by Fujin. Her hair was wet and glimmered in the setting sun as pale, smooth skin glistened with salt water. Large emerald eyes blinked as she looked at them and beamed them a smile. "Hi!" 

"Selphie, grab this!" another voice shouted over the edge. Selphie turned around and grabbed a mesh bag containing what looked like oysters. She tossed the bag aside and stepped back as a tall, beautiful woman with long blond hair climbed up. 

"This is Quistis," Seifer grinned. "Our navigator." 

The blond looked up, wearing a dusty pink colored one tank and shorts. She had long legs and was carrying a bunch of tools with her. She gave them a curt nod as her deep blue eyes studied them. "How do you do?" 

"Quisty! Can you grab Angelo!?" a voice shouted below her. Quistis turned and sighed. Fujin knelt down by the edge with Quistis and helped carry up a large, soaking dog. 

He panted as he reached the deck and shook himself off. Irvine and Zell frowned as they stepped back. Angelo was getting water all over them. Squall wasn't really paying attention. "And this one..." Seifer's voice said, cutting through his thoughts. "She's our captain." 

At that, Squall turned around. His eyes went wide as he watched the black haired beauty reach the deck. The setting sun illuminated the light behind her, giving off warm glow around her wet skin. Shivering slightly, she looked up with large brown eyes as her light blue two piece fit perfectly against her. She smiled brightly and extended her hand. "Hi!" she grinned happily. "Welcome to the _Siren_! I'm Rinoa! Your captain." 


	2. Sea Breeze

**Thief's Treasure**  
_Chapter Two: Sea Breeze_  
By PasifiKStaR

*All Standard Disclaimers Apply - I do not own Final Fantasy or it's characters. 

* * *

"Hello," Irvine said as he cut in front of Squall and extended his hand, taking Rinoa's and squeezing it gently as he gave her a winning grin. "My name is Irvine, that's Zell, and the walking zombie staring at you is Squall." 

His attempt to be funny yearned some laughs as Rinoa let go of his hand and shook Zell's. "Nice to meet you," she said with a warm smile. "Zell, right?" 

"Yeah," the blond smiled happily. *Okay, I've been hanging with Irvine and Squall since we graduated and Seifer's been traveling the world on a cruddy ship with four hot girls who go diving for oysters wearing bathing suits...I don't see how I got the better end of the deal.* 

"Hello, Squall," Rinoa said. Noticing the cold look on his face, she refrained from shaking hands with him and waved instead. "How can we help you?" 

Squall just looked at her. "For starters you could put some clothes on." 

Rinoa jerked her head back in surprise as Selphie and Quistis exchanged looks behind her. "Oh..." she mumbled. She looked at her friends. "I guess you're right! We'll be back in a few minutes. Seifer, can you take care of them?" 

Seifer cracked his knuckles as he smiled. "With pleasure." 

Quistis sighed and pinched his ear. "Not like that," she stated simply. "And when are you going to cook our dinner?" 

Zell snorted and tired to hold back his laughter as Seifer sent him a glare before looking at the tall blond woman. "I'll get right on it," he said with an intent smile. "Can I get a kiss first?" 

Quistis took a step back. "Fujin!" she cried out. The silver haired woman who was about to walk past her turned and kicked Seifer in the shins. 

"Agh!" His eyes went wide as he grasped his leg and turned to Fujin. "Traitor!" he gasped. 

"Pervert." Fujin stated with a grin. Giggling, Selphie shook her head and beckoned for them to hurry up. The two women headed to the captain's room to change from their suits to regular clothes. 

"Stupid Quistis..." Seifer hissed as he glared at the closing captain's door. "She's warped Fujin." 

"So you really are the cook?" Irvine asked. "I thought you were being sarcastic." 

"Why would I be sarcastic about something like that!?" Seifer hissed. "Just go wander the ship," he grabbed the sack of oysters. "I have to get cooking." 

"Hey, can we get some of that food-" 

"No." He walked around them and headed to the kitchen on the opposite end of the ship and disappeared into the kitchen. 

Zell looked around the ship and let out a whistle. "What do you think, Squall?" 

"As long as it'll move, it'll do," Squall stated. "It looks sturdy enough." 

"What do you think about the crew?" Irvine mumbled while deep in thought. Squall looked over at him and raised an eyebrow. 

"I want to speak to the captain first." 

Irvine elbowed Zell knowingly. "So...will this be a private meeting?" Squall's eyes settled on him with a glare. Irvine chuckled nervously and looked around. "Uh...I wonder how many rooms they have here." 

"There are seven quarters below, ya know," Raijin said as he walked past them as he cleaned the deck with a mop. "The captain's room is up here on the top level." 

"Hey, Raijin, how'd you guys end up on this floating piece of crap anyway?" Zell asked. "I mean...what happened to you guys after you got kicked out of Balamb Garden?" The larger man paused for a second and smiled thoughtfully. 

"Well, it wasn't all of us who got kicked out, ya know," Raijin began. "Just Seifer...but Fujin and I are his friends, ya know. We weren't just going to abandon him, ya know. Anyway, he used the last of his tuition to buy the _Siren_ and now we do courier work, ya know." 

"What about those girls?" Irvine asked. "Where'd you pick them up?" 

Raijin chuckled. "Funny story, ya know," he began. "At Fisherman's Horizon-" 

"That's enough, Raijin." a voice said from the side. They turned and saw Rinoa and some of the other girls walking out of the captain's room. Their hair was wet, but they wore dry clothes as they headed out on deck. Rinoa was wearing black boots and a short black dress with a sleeveless light blue duster. Quistis wore a dusty pink dress that reached her brown booted feet as a leather belt hung loosely around her hips. 

Selphie was wearing bright yellow. Her dress reached her mid thighs as a strap over each of her pale shoulders held up the dress. Fujin was wearing a blue shirt with black pants and boots. She and Quistis were both carrying maps and seemed to be heading for the top deck, right above the captain's bedroom, to the steering wheel. "Do you guys want a tour of the ship!?" Selphie asked cheerfully. 

"Only if you take us," the cowboy grinned as he caught Selphie's hand in his and kissed the back of it. "It would be a pleasure." 

Selphie merely giggled and waved for them to follow her. Rinoa turned to Squall, who didn't seem to be leaving. "Let me guess, you're our customer?" He nodded. "Follow me," she said. "I'm assuming you'd like to talk about hiring us." 

She turned around and headed back to the captain's bedroom. She seemed very casual as she stood aside and let him enter before closing the door behind him. He looked around. It was a small quaint room with large bed in the center. There was a dresser to one side and what seemed to be a walk in bathroom and closet. Shelves were lined with books to one side as a desk decorated one corner, next to bed. 

"Can you take us to the Islands Closest to Hell and Heaven?" he asked simply. 

Rinoa was over at her desk now and nodded. "I can take you anywhere you want," she stated simply. A sly grin crossed her pink lips. "Heaven or hell." 

Squall nodded. "How long will it take?" 

"We can leave in as little as two days," she explained. She unrolled a large map over the width of her bed. "It'll take us a few days to get to either Island from here. We can head over to the Island Closest to Hell first then head back and go to Heaven," She was leaning over the bed, showing him their trail over the water. "A few weeks...probably a month or so to return back here." 

"A month is fine," Squall agreed. "How much?" 

*Not much for conversation are you...?* she thought to herself. "How much you offering?" She said as she stood straight up and crossed her arms over her chest. 

Squall reached into his jacket and pulled out a wad of cash. He tossed it right on top of the map on her bed. "2.5 million." 

He studied her face for any sort of reaction, but found none. She just looked at the money before raising her eyes up to meet him. "Make it an even 3 million." 

"Why?" 

"I don't keep this money for myself," Rinoa stated. "I split it evenly with my crew." Squall nodded in understanding. 

"3 million, plus a 50 grand at your disposal for supplies," he stated. "When can we leave?" 

"In two days," she replied. "I'll take the 50 grand now for supplies. We get paid half now and half at the end. I just need you to sign these papers." 

"What for?" Squall asked reluctantly. 

"We've had trouble with verbal agreements before," she stated as she handed him a few sheets of paper with printed letters on them. "1.5 million now and 1.5 million later. We won't take your money if you don't get where you're going." 

"I'll need you to carry something back." 

"I know," Rinoa stated. "There's only one reason why someone would want to go to both islands," Squall paused as he held a pen over a line to sign his name. "Let me guess...the Thief's Treasure?" 

Squall narrowed his eyes and signed the first sheet. "I suppose you're going to tell me that it doesn't exist." 

"Even if I tell you, it won't really change anything," she sighed as she rolled up the map. "You won't have to worry about us taking anything. If we wanted money, we wouldn't really be here." 

Squall thought about her earlier demand for more money, but said nothing. He handed her back the papers. "We'll arrive in the night after next. Can we set sail then?" 

"It's best to leave a night," Rinoa stated as she looked over the papers and carefully placed them back on her desk. "We're an unaffiliated ship." 

Squall nodded and watched as Rinoa walked past him and opened the door. He went through it with her behind him. From a stair way underneath some stairs to the upper deck, he caught sight of Selphie arriving with Irvine and Zell behind her. 

"So if you guys do get to travel with us, two of you will have to share a room!" Selphie was saying. 

"Great!" Irvine said energetically. "I want to share one with you!" 

Squall rolled his eyes as Selphie giggled. Rinoa stood next to him. "We'll see you in a few days then, Mr. Leonheart," she said. Squall looked over at her. No wonder she mentioned they were an unaffiliated ship...she knew who he was. She looked back and him and smiled. "By the way, you have some really sexy eyes." 

Squall's eyes went wide as she turned back and greeted the others. "All right!" Zell exclaimed upon hearing the agreement. He looked over at Squall and smiled. "Hey, Squall! This ship isn't so bad after all! They have seven bedrooms below...they have a communal bathroom, but that's cool. They also have lounge downstairs." 

"Let's go," Squall stated. "Our business is done here." 

"Aww...can't we stay a little longer?" Irvine pleaded. 

"We have to make preparations back in Esthar." Squall stated. He headed towards the plank to get back on the pier just as Seifer walked out of the kitchen wearing a dark green apron. 

"Oysters are ready!" he shouted. Zell looked at him in disbelief. 

*He can't possibly be the same man...* 

"Oh! Yay!" Selphie and Rinoa raced to the kitchen as Quistis and Fujin ran down from the top level with Raijin laughing as he walked behind him. 

"You added some sauce, Seifer," Quistis stated. "Good!" 

"Tasty." Fujin agreed as she took a shell and ate the oyster that was laying on top of it. 

Irvine sighed. *At least we'll be coming back.* 

* * *

"You actually found a ship?" Ellone asked in disbelief as she watched her brother pack clothes into a small bag over his bed. "A real ship that will actually take you?" 

"It's an unaffiliated ship," Squall stated. "We were lucky to find one." 

"Are you SURE they're unaffiliated?" Ellone asked quietly. "I mean...what if it's a trick?" 

"I'm going with a gut feeling," Squall stated. He zipped up his bag and looked at his sister. "We should be back in a month." 

"Squall, you ready?" Irvine said from the door way. He was holding his own bag over his shoulder as Zell passed by and waved into the room. Squall nodded. 

"See you soon, Sis," He hugged Ellone and headed out the door. The three males walked down the stairs and saw Laguna waiting for them. Squall let out a frustrated breath. *Dammit...* 

"Squall," Laguna said. "You really don't have to do this." 

"Good-bye, Laguna," Without a second thought, Squall walked past him. *Moron...* 

"Squall!" Irvine opened the door and the three of them walked out. "Squall!" Laguna called out. He looked sad as Ellone walked up behind him. 

"Are you worried, Uncle?" Ellone asked. 

Laguna nodded. "I just don't want to lose another person I love to the ocean." 

* * *

The heard barking as they got off the train and Zell smiled. "Hey! It's Rinoa's dog!" He rushed over to the long furred canine who was sitting there, wagging his tail as he barked. 

"There's a note," Irvine said. He saw the tag tied to Angelo's leather collar and untied it. "Hmm...they had to move spaces. Angelo's going to lead us there." 

Squall looked at the dog suspiciously. "Why would the dog lead us there?" 

"It seems that they had to change spaces...being an undocumented ship and all," Irvine said as he crumpled up the piece of paper. He looked at Angelo. "All right, mutt. Lead the way." 

Angelo growled at him and let out a sharp bark, making Irvine jump back. Squall grinned. "Good dog." 

"Very funny..." Irvine grumbled. Angelo stood up and lead the group of three young men down the docks. The sun was setting and slowly, the bars began to turn on their signs as they passed. 

Before long, they reached the last pier and Zell let out a whistle. "This definitely looks shady." 

"It must be were all the unaffiliated ships go..." Irvine mumbled. Angelo barked, as if telling them to hurry up. They walked quickly after the dog and towards a plank to the familiar looking ship. 

"Is she still sleeping?" they heard a concerned male voice ask. 

"Yes," a female voice replied. "Selphie said she'll come and get us if she wakes up." 

Angelo barked to get their attention and Quistis and Seifer turned around. Quistis let out a heavy sigh. "Oh, good, he found them," she sighed. "Selphie said she showed you where your rooms are, right? You're free to go downstairs and make yourself at home." 

Seifer just looked at them and turned away. "Raijin!" he shouted. "Let's get out of this hell hole!" 

"Sure thing, ya know!" Seifer walked past the three males to pull up the plank and close the side of the ship while Quistis rubbed her eyes under her glasses. 

"Is something wrong?" Zell asked. 

"Nothing's wrong!" Quistis answered quickly. "Just...just go ahead and get settled in..." 

Irvine narrowed his eyes. "Where are the other three?" 

"Fujin and Selphie are with Rinoa in the captain's room," Quistis stated. "Girl troubles." she stated quickly before they could answer another question. 

Zell and Irvine seemed to buy it as they headed down the deck of the ship. Squall stood there, looking to his left at the door that lead to Rinoa's room. "Is she-" 

"Don't ask okay?" Seifer snapped as he passed by Squall and glared at him. "It's none of your business." 

Squall narrowed his eyes at Seifer and Quistis took a deep breath. "Squall, just please..." she took a deep breath. "Just go get yourself settled in...you can come up in a few minutes for dinner-" 

"I'm not feeding them-" 

"You'll FEED who we tell you to FEED!" Quistis snapped. Seifer raised his hands to ward her off. 

"Relax, Quisty," he told her in a softer tone. "I'm just joking." 

"Seifer..." 

"I know, I know...now isn't the time." he said. He turned around and headed for the kitchen as Quistis headed to the side of the ship. She leaned over the railing and ran her hand down her face. 

Squall stood on deck as Raijin steered the ship away from the pier from the cabin at the top of the ship. Quietly, he descended into the lower levels. There he found Zell and Irvine arguing over who would get a separate room and who would have to share. 

"You snore!" 

"You kick!" 

Before they could get another word out, Squall walked past them, opened one of the spare bedrooms, entered and slammed the door closed. The two other males paused at what had just happened. 

Inside his room, Squall looked at the surroundings. It was small with a small closet and a bunk bed in the corner. He opted for the lower bunk. Suddenly, he heard fists pounding on his door. "Open up, Leonheart!" Irvine yelled. "No fair!" 

Sighing heavily, he turned and walked towards the door. He pulled it open and glared at the two young men standing there. "I'm paying. I get the room. End of story." 

The door slammed in their faces once more. Irvine and Zell looked at each other. "So..." Zell began. "Do you want the top bunk or the bottom bunk?" 

* * *

Rinoa was seen sitting on the upper deck just above the kitchen, her feet hanging off the side of the boat as she sat on the edge, holding on to a rope to make sure she didn't fall in. She was slowly chewing on an apple as Angelo rested right behind her. 

"Squall," a voice called out. The brunette turned his head and saw Quistis waving towards him. "Rinoa told us about where you want to go. I thought I'd show you the research that's been done already." 

"Research that's been done?" Squall murmured. 

Quistis nodded. "You're not the first to hire us to go find the Thief's Treasure," she stated. She lead him into Rinoa's cabin, which seemed to double as a meeting room. There were already several books that were scattered all around the room and four or five maps layered on top of each other over Rinoa's bed. "How much research have you done?" 

*Research...right...* 

Quistis narrowed her eyes as she studied him. "You didn't do any..." she trailed off. Squall just shrugged. "Oh, Hyne...why would you go on a mission like this without knowing what you're getting yourself into? I mean...if the treasure was that easy to find, wouldn't it have already been found?" 

*Okay, she has a point...* Squall looked around. "All I know that they are somewhere on those islands." 

"You're kidding me..." Quistis slammed the books she was holding on Rinoa's desk. "Okay, you sit here and at least find something to start off with." 

"I thought you were going to tell me." Squall began. 

Quistis shook her head and stepped away from him. "You hired us to get you there, not provide all the information." 

She opened the door and found Seifer standing there, looking caught as he held up a ladle and wore his green apron. She narrowed her eyes at him. He had obviously been listening at the door. "Uh..." Seifer began. He looked into the room and narrowed his eyes, pointing the ladle at Squall. "I'm watching you, puberty boy!" 

With that, he turned in a huff and stalked back to the kitchen. Quistis shook her head and followed him outside, just as Rinoa walked in, carrying some books in her arms. "I found these downstairs!" she said tiredly as she stumbled slightly. 

Squall was immediately at her side, relieving her of her large burden. "Thanks." he mumbled. 

She merely smiled at him and he noticed the puffs below her eyes as he placed the books on the table. "I heard what Quistis said," she said cheerfully. "So what exactly do you know about the story?" 

"Enough." 

"Enough as in a lot?" she asked questioningly as she took a step closer to him. "Or enough as in 'I know the story and that's it'?" 

Squall sighed. "I have to start going through these books-" 

"So it's the later then," she smiled. "Can I help?" 

"No." 

Rinoa wrinkled her nose and sat on an part of the bed that wasn't covered with maps. "So what's your reason for this trip anyway? You're a Leonheart so I doubt you're in it for the money." 

"What if I said I was?" 

"Then you'd either be lying or just greedy," she replied casually. "I'm going to vote for lying." 

Squall sat down on the chair and shot her an annoyed glare. "Listen, I really don't have time for this-" 

"Oh...is it for one of your friends?" 

"what? No!" 

"Secret lover?" 

"What are you talking about-" 

"Love child?" 

"Get out!" Squall yelled. 

Rinoa looked up at him as he stood straight up and pointed to the door. She merely smiled. "If you find that treasure, you might be disappointed." 

She stood up and turned around. "What?" Squall asked. "What are you talking about?" 

"Oh...so now you want me to stay...?" she asked with a smirk. Squall narrowed his eyes. "Just kidding," she said as she raised her hands, as if to ward him off. "I'll see you later then." 

"No wait!" He reached out and grabbed her wrist, pulling her back towards him. Rinoa looked surprised as she found herself crushed up against him as his hand held her wrist. "What..." he flushed slightly and immediately let her go. He took a step back and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "What do you mean I might be disappointed?" 

Rinoa looked at him as her face held a hint of red on them. "Umm...it's just that... at the time, it was said to be the best treasure in the world. The thief who stole the princess' heart said that the treasure he had acquired for her dowry was to be the only treasure worthy of the princess..." 

"So?" 

Rinoa looked at him reluctantly. "Well...if he loved her that might...what if...what if he thought NOTHING was worthy of the princess?" 

Squall narrowed his eyes. Strangely enough, she made complete sense. "Why would he lie then?" 

"Because he found nothing," Rinoa whispered, trapped in his eyes. "Your eyes are amazing..." 

Squall blinked sharply as Rinoa took a step back and lightly shook her head. "I...I have to hit these books. I'll be out by the time you go to bed." 

"It's all right," she assured him. "I can always take your room." 

"No, you're the captain." 

"Listen, your room is too small to have all these books in," Rinoa told him as she walked to the door. She was still avoiding his gaze as she turned the knob. "Even if it's for just tonight. Study hard! Quistis won't be easy on you if you don't do your homework!" She gave him a weak smile and quickly stepped out of the room. 

"Rinoa, did you give him the books?" another voice asked from the outside. 

"Huh? Yeah!" Rinoa said cheerfully. She smiled. "He'll study in my room tonight, okay, Quisty? It's just easier that way." 

"If you say so, captain," Quistis replied. Squall Rinoa's footsteps leave and the door opened once more. Quistis appeared at the door way with narrowed eyes. "I saw you," she whispered. "The door was part way open." 

"Whatever-" 

"No, NOT whatever," Quistis hissed. She took a step towards him and loomed over him as he sat back down on the chair. "Don't get too close to Rinoa." 

"Why would I?" Squall snapped back. *How dare this woman make such assumptions!* "Are you threatening me?" he narrowed his eyes at the blue eyed blond. 

Quistis took a step back, but kept her narrowed eyes on him. "You don't know anything about her, do you understand me? Just stay the hell away from Rinoa." 

"Hey, Quisty! Can we borrow your telescope!?" Selphie shouted from outside. She bounded into the room with a smile on her cute face. "I'm going to try to teach Irvine and Zell how to navigate using the stars!" 

Quistis whirled around, a smile also pasted on her face. "Sure thing, Selphie!" she answered happily. "I'll go grab it!" She turned to Squall. "Study hard!" 

As Quistis left, Selphie looked back into the room. Her smile faded from her face into a sad one. "Don't let what Quistis said bother you," Selphie smiled weakly. "It's just that she cares about Rinoa...a lot..." 

Squall merely nodded and she closed the door behind her. He looked over the maps sprawled on the bed and then moved his eyes across the table littered with books. Behind one particular pile, he saw a silver picture frame reflecting the light from the lamp. Leaning over, he moved the books aside and found two sets of frames. 

The first picture frame opened and closed like a book and had two places for pictures. One had a picture of three teenaged girls, dressed in white dresses. They were all standing with flowers in their up-dos and smiling. *A debutant ball?* He looked over at the other picture. The same three girls were now wearing the clothes he knew them to be dressed in, along with Fujin, Raijin, and Seifer all standing in front of the _Siren_. 

Fujin was looking uncharacteristically silly as she was being carried on Raijin's back with her hands up in a little victory sign. In front of her, Selphie and Rinoa were pretending to flex their muscles to show they were as strong as Raijin. To the left of the group, Quistis was holding a whip and posing with a grin on her face as the whip went around Seifer's neck as he stood there looking bored. 

The last picture looked older and he moved it into the light. There were three people, two adults who were obviously very wealthy. The woman wore a deep red and black dress as she held the hand of a little girl standing next to her. They had the same hair color and skin tone. No doubt the girl was her daughter. The man looked stern as he stood behind the woman in the chair. He wore a military outfit as one hand was placed on the woman's bare shoulder. 

The woman and the daughter were both smiling. Squall looked around the room and listened. He could hear them outside yelling at Irvine that the constellations he pointed out did not look like phallic symbols. He turned the frame over, knowing he had seen the man's uniform before and tugged at the back. The cardboard back of the frame slid open and he read what was marked on the back. 

"General Caraway and family." 

*Caraway?* Squall heard the girls laughing outside along with Zell and Irvine as he slid the back of the frame back on to it. He turned it over and looked at the faces in the picture. Lightly, his thumb went over the little girl. *Rinoa? Rinoa is the daughter of General Caraway...General Caraway...the leader of Galbadia's army...* 

Suddenly the door burst open and Zell stumbled in looking energetic. Squall casually slipped the picture back behind the stacks of books. "Squall! Squall! We saw a shooting star!" 

"Good for you," the brunette mumbled as he finally opened a book. "I have to start reading." 

"Ugh...fine!" Zell shrugged. "Just because you're here on business doesn't mean Irvine and I can't have fun!" 

"Seifer! Where did you get that!?" a voice gasped behind them. Zell whirled around. 

"Aw, come on Quisty!" Seifer's voice teased. "How about a few jello shots?" A whip was cracked. "I'm kidding! I'm kidding!" 

"Gotta go!" Zell waved and closed the door behind him. Squall looked back at the pictures. It seemed that Rinoa, and probably Quistis and Selphie, weren't just sailors. He looked back at the picture of all three girls in white dresses. 

*They're just like me...* 

* * *

The sun was peaking into the dim captain's room and Squall blinked his eyes. He sat up straight, a piece of paper stuck to his cheek as he looked around, blinking at the blinding light. A blanket fell from his shoulders and on the chair he had fallen asleep in. Grumbling he put his hand on the paper and tossed it down with the others. He stood and headed for the door to stretch his legs. Passing the mirror he checked to make sure there were no ink marks on his face. 

His hand tightened around the door knob and turned it. Upon stepping outside, he was rushed by the cool sea breeze and he inhaled it deeply. It was refreshing. "Puberty boy," a deep voice said to his right. Squall turned and saw Seifer leaning over the railing. "Can we have a little chat?" 

"What about?" Squall asked coldly as he approached the tall blond. He stood next to Seifer, who seemed to be watching the sunrise. *This is weird...I'm watching the sunrise with SEIFER...* 

"Quistis told me how you grabbed Rinoa's arm yesterday," Seifer told him. "Don't do that to her." 

*Whatever...* Squall thought to himself as he rolled his eyes. Seifer seemed to catch on. 

"I mean it," Seifer mumbled. "Rin...she's a great girl. But she's not all there sometimes." 

Squall narrowed his eyes. "What are you talking about?" 

"Let's just leave it at that, all right?" Seifer shrugged. He pushed himself off the railing and headed towards the kitchen. "If you'll excuse me, I have breakfast to make." 

Squall turned and watched the green eyed man walk away. "Morning, Seifer!" a cheerful voice said happily. 

"Morning, princess." Seifer waved as he passed Rinoa, who was coming out from below deck. 

She saw Squall and waved. "Hey, you're up early, too!" she said with a smile. "Good morning!" Squally merely raised an eyebrow in question. Rinoa stood in front of him and gave him the same questioning look. "That's where you say, 'Good morning, Rinoa'." 

He continued to just stare at her, trying to figure out what Seifer had meant that Rinoa wasn't 'all there'. *She looks normal to me...* 

Finally, she sighed and shook her head. "I see it's wasted on you," she said as she put her arms in the air and stretched. She looked up at the top level where Raijin was steering the ship. "Morning, Raijin! It's my turn to steer!" 

"Morning, Rinoa. Good to see you're up and awake, ya know!" Raijin said as Rinoa climbed to the deck and took his place. "I'm going to get some sleep, ya know!" 

"We'll call you when it's time for dinner!" Rinoa said cheerfully. As Raijin headed below deck, Squall slowly headed up the steps to the top deck where Rinoa was steering inside the little cabin. 

"Good morning." he stated simply. 

Rinoa cast him a warily look. "You're a few minutes late, you know." she said with a grin. 

"I'm sorry," he mumbled. "I was thinking about something earlier..." 

"You zoned out," Rinoa shrugged. "I do it all the time..." she narrowed her eyes. "At least that's what Seifer says..." 

"How did you meet him?" Squall asked. He tried to lean back, but was poked by a fire extinguisher hanging on the wall. He glared at it as he crossed his arms and tried to lean against the cabinet behind Rinoa. 

"Long story," Rinoa said. "But to put it simply - we met them at Fisherman's Horizon and got on board." 

"I see..." he mumbled. "What do you know about the Thief's Treasure?" 

"I've heard the story a lot," Rinoa shrugged as she glanced over at him. "My mom used to tell me about it." 

"Where did you get that theory about there being nothing?" Squall asked. 

"When I was little, my mom told me the story and one night I asked her 'what if the princess was so wonderful that there was nothing worthy of her'?" Rinoa said with a thoughtful smile on her face. "And my mom said that if the thief was really in love, the treasure won't exist because there was nothing he could find to show how much he loved her." 

"Refresh my memory," Squall said, although he already knew the answer to the question he was going to ask. "If the thief returned with nothing...did he marry the princess?" 

Rinoa smiled sadly as she looked off into the sun rise. "See, that's the sad part," she told him. "Even though he loved her so much, he didn't get to marry her." 

"Why not?" 

"Because in that world, Squall," she said regretfully. "Love means nothing." 

He studied her face as she stood there, her hands gripping the wheel so tight that her knuckles turned white. Her eyes were narrowed as it seemed that tears would fall from them at any moment. He ached to ask her about the picture. If she was really the little girl in the photography. But before he could, Selphie appeared. 

"Morning!" she said cheerfully. Rinoa smiled and greeted her. Selphie's large green eyes scanned the couple knowingly. "Seifer says breakfast will be done soon." 

"Good, I'm starving," Rinoa sighed. She looked over at Selphie. "Bring me something to eat?" 

"Aye, aye, captain!" Selphie said as she saluted her friend. "What about you, Squall? Are you up to eat?" 

"No thank you." 

"Come on," Selphie coaxed. She grinned. "I swear Seifer didn't poison it or anything." 

Squall's eyes went wide. *I never even thought about it like that...* Rinoa merely giggled and shook her head. 

"I'll share whatever I get," Rinoa said. Selphie nodded and headed back down. "I swear, Selphie hasn't changed since we were kids..." The young woman said with a happy smile on her face. 

"I'm going to go study some more." he said abruptly. Rinoa didn't say anything as he walked down the steps and towards the room. He passed Quistis, who gave him a disapproving look. He merely looked away and slipped back into the room. 

He had been sitting for a few minutes when Rinoa walked in with a tray of food and Angelo at her heels. "Hey, Squall," she said warily as she peeked into the room. "I have breakfast." 

"I'm not hungry." 

She frowned and walked in, closing the door behind Angelo as the dog headed over to a little bed at the base of Rinoa's. He padded over it in a circle and then finally laid down. Squall could smell the food and his stomach protested against him. By then, Rinoa had strode across the room and placed the tray of food on the books. "Your stomach and I win," she stated. "Eat." 

"I'm fine-" His stomach grumbled and a quick blush flashed across his face. Rinoa chuckled. 

"Sure you are," she said. "Just eat...I'll even leave you alone." She stood up and backed away. 

Squall waited until she left and shook his head. *I'm starting to understand WHY Seifer was saying that she's not all there...* 

* * *

"That's a good place to rest up," Rinoa agreed as Quistis showed her the map. Three days at sea and Rinoa finally had her room back. Of course, it was still littered with books and Squall had spent much of his time, hidden away inside reading all he could on the subject. "How long until we reach it?" 

"Tomorrow morning," Quistis said as she circled the area on the well used map and began to roll it up. She smiled at Rinoa. "Get some rest, okay?" 

"I will," Rinoa nodded. "Inform the others that we'll rest there for a few days." 

"A few days?" Quistis asked. "Why so long?" 

"Irvine and Zell haven't gotten used to their 'sea legs' yet," Rinoa sighed heavily. "Either that or their puking every morning is a sign of pregnancy." 

Quistis grinned as she stood up. "All right, I'll tell them. Maybe we can get a stint as a day laborer or something for the time being." 

Rinoa nodded. "Goodnight, Quistis," the brunette said happily. Quistis nodded and left, bending down to scratch Angelo's head as she walked out the door. Rinoa grinned and looked down. "Well, Angelo, looks like we're back in the room tonight!" 

Angelo let out a bark as Rinoa headed for her dresser to get her clothes to change into for bed. 

Downstairs, Squall laid on the bottom bunk holding a book up as he read it. He laid on his back as his head rested against two soft pillows that still carried the scent of Rinoa's hair. *Okay, so she smells good. So what?* Squall sighed and put the book over his face. *Hyne, she smells good...* 

Shaking his head, he sat up and closed the book. He needed to cross reference something and the other book was back in Rinoa's room. Sighing heavily, he stood up and headed towards the door. As he walked up the narrow corridor of the lower level, he passed by the lounge were Irvine sat, cleaning out his gun lovingly. 

Squall ignored him as he headed up the steps to the main deck. There he could hear two people arguing in the kitchen. "I told you, no!" 

"Give it to me, Seifer!" 

"I made it! I'm going to eat it!" 

"You did NOT make that!" The female voice seemed to belong to Quistis. "That was GROWN! And you are no farmer!" 

"I don't care! It's mine!" 

"Hand it over, chef boy!" There were sounds of struggling and them something went thud. Quistis screamed. "MY MELONS!!" 

Fujin, at the time, was passing the kitchen. Her eye went large as she shook her head. "Kinky..." She passed by just in time to see Quistis on the floor, crawling over Seifer for two melons that were rolling away. 

Squall squinted his eyes and turned away. *Let's just pretend you didn't see that!* 

"Seifer!" Quistis' voice was heard across the seas. "THOSE melons are NOT for touching!" 

Raijin, Fujin, Selphie, and Zell all burst into laughter as they lounged on the roof top deck above the kitchen. Zell was shaking his head. "You guys are right! They are hours of entertainment!" 

While they were yelling, Squall quickly entered Rinoa's room and closed the door behind him. He turned around as someone let out a yelp. "SQUALL!?" 

His blue eyes went wide as they roamed up and down flawless pale skin. Rinoa was holding a night gown in one hand as her other arm went across her chest and covered her bare breasts. She wore little black panties with a little bow at the frown and was trying desperately to cover herself. It seemed at she had turned completely tomato red. 

"Rinoa! Sorry!" Squall shook his head and quickly turned around, his hands clamped tightly over his eyes. "I didn't mean to! I just wanted to get a book!" 

"Just get out!" Rinoa gasped. 

"Right! Right!" Squall replied nervously as his free hand reached for the door knob. "I'm sorry!" 

"OUT!"

As Squall finally grabbed the door knob, he felt something rub against his legs. As he jumped back, he stumbled and fell backwards. "Shit!" 

"Squall!" 

"Woof!" Angelo laid back in his bed, seemingly pleased with the situation as Rinoa, finally with her night gown on, ran over to the fallen man. 

"Squall, are you okay?" she gasped out as she knelt down and looked over him. Squall groaned and blinked. 

"Your dog..." 

"Angelo!" Rinoa snapped up as she looked at the smug looking canine. "Angelo, bad boy! Don't trip people!" 

"Yeah...bad dog..." Squall grumbled. He put his hands on his side and tried to push himself up. Rinoa put her arms around his shoulders and helped steady him. 

"Angelo! Shame on you!" Rinoa scolded. She looked at Squall gently as he sat up. "Are you hurt? Does it hurt any where?" she asked intently. 

*Don't get so close...* he thought to himself as she her concerned brown eyes looked into his, as if trying to see if he was lying. "No...I'm fine." 

"I'm so sorry, Squall!" Rinoa gasped. "Usually Angelo hates men..." 

"Are you sure that's not why he did it?" Squall mumbled as he turned and glared at the door. *Look at him...looking so smug like he...planned it...* 

Suddenly the door was pushed open, slamming into Squall's leg. "Rinoa!" someone shouted. 

"AGH!!" Squall winced as he reached for his leg. Rinoa yelped as he leaned forward and grabbed a hold of him, his head resting on her shoulder, right over the thin strap of her night gown. 

"You guys!" Rinoa gasped, looking up at her friends. "Watch it!" 

"We heard yelling!" Selphie gasped as she seemed to be ahead of everyone. The rest of the group was leaning over behind her, trying to look into the cabin. "Are you okay?" 

"Well, I am, but Squall's leg-" 

"It's fine..." he grumbled. He pulled back from Rinoa, only to meet the harsh stares of Seifer and Quistis. He pulled away from Rinoa. "It's all right." Without shaking or stumbling, he stood up. 

"Squall..." Rinoa trailed as she looked at him, worried. She was still sitting on the floor. 

"I'm fine!" he snapped. He glared at the group at the door way. They automatically parted as Squall moved through the group. 

Rinoa watched him sadly as he walked away. Selphie and Quistis knelt down next to her. "Rinoa, are you okay?" 

"I'm fine!" Rinoa said sharply as she hoisted herself up. "I have to make sure that he's okay-" 

"He said he's fine!" Quistis assured her as she and Selphie took Rinoa's arms. "Just go to bed." 

"But-" 

"Go to bed," Quistis stated. She looked at Selphie. "Make sure she stays here and get some rest." 

Selphie nodded and sat next to Rinoa as the girl grumbled and crawled into her bed. The tall blond walked outside and closed the door. Raijin and Fujin had mysteriously disappeared to the top deck as Zell ran downstairs after Squall. 

Quistis looked over at Seifer, who wore a heavily displeased frown on his face. "I told him to stay away from her." 

"I don't want him getting to close to her," Quistis said. "It's too dangerous." 

"I know..." Seifer mumbled. He untied the apron that hung at his waist and tossed it to Quistis. "Take this into the kitchen." 

"Where are you going?" 

"To make sure he stays the hell away from Rinoa." 


	3. Under the Boardwalk

**Thief's Treasure**  
_Chapter Three: Under the Boardwalk_  
By PasifiKStaR

*All Standard Disclaimers Apply - I do not own Final Fantasy or it's characters. 

* * *

Squall's body was slammed up against his door as Seifer grabbed the collar of his jacket and kept him pinned there. Irvine and Zell were struggling to hold back the tall blond, but Seifer's fury seemed too strong as he shoved Squall against the wall. To make this worse, Squall didn't seem to be fighting back, just standing there and taking it. 

"What did I tell you, puberty boy!?" Seifer hissed madly as Irvine and Zell grabbed his arms and pulled him back. "Didn't I tell you to stay the hell away from Rinoa!?" 

"Seifer! What the hell's wrong with you!?" Irvine yelled as he held the man back. Seifer still struggled to hit Squall, who stood, leaning heavily against the wall as he rubbed the area around his neck that Seifer had grabbed earlier. 

"It's not like she's your girlfriend or anything!" Zell shouted. He paused. "Is she!?" 

"That's not the point!" Seifer shouted. "Just don't touch her, all right!" 

"Seifer, stop it!" a voice snapped behind him. He whirled around and saw Quistis standing there. She shook her head, it had taken a few moments for her to realize what exactly Seifer was referring to before she ran after him. "That's enough." 

"He's fucking paying you, man!" Irvine shouted. "Why are you trying to beat him up!?" 

"Let him go, guys," Quistis told them calmly. "Seifer...come here." Irvine and Zell reluctantly let Seifer's arms go as he pulled away and walked towards Quistis. She moved in front of him, keep him from the other three young men. 

"I'm going back on deck." Seifer hissed, disgusted as he turned around and walked back upstairs. 

"What's his problem!?" Zell asked. 

"Squall, I will tell you this once more," Quistis said as her blue eyes drilled into Squall's. "Stay away from Rinoa." 

"You act as if I'm trying to glue myself on to her." Squall hissed bitterly as he fixed his fluffy collar. 

"I've SEEN the way she looks at you," Quistis told him nervously. "Rinoa is a sweet, innocent girl and has no idea that she's drawing you in. Like a moth to a flame. If you get too close to her, you're going to be killed." 

"What are you talking about!?" Irvine gasped. 

Quistis' eyes darted over to theirs. She took a deep breath and just shook her head. "Rinoa doesn't remember this...but she was mugged...a few years ago. So when ever she is touched a certain way, she...looses control..." 

"What do you mean?" Zell whispered. 

"Obviously Squall can take care of himself if Rinoa starts hitting him or something," Irvine stated. "There shouldn't be a problem." 

"I agree, Rinoa is harmless." Zell affirmed. 

"Do you know what a sorceress is, Zell?" Quistis asked. Zell nodded. 

"Yeah, but most sorceresses have dormant powers, right?" Zell asked. He looked at his friends. "We learned that at Balamb Garden." 

"That's all well and good, Zell," Quistis stated. "But unfortunately, when the carrier looses control of their body, they also loose control of their powers. And their powers show." 

"Rinoa's a...?" Irvine began. Quistis nodded. 

"Will she be all right?" Zell asked quietly, the realization dawning on him. 

Quistis shrugged. "I don't know," she whispered. "Just don't tell her about this. If she's going to remember, she has to remember on her own. I'm not going to force her. I don't know if she'll be ready or not." 

Irvine and Zell nodded. Squall took a step forward. "What happens when her powers are released?" 

Quistis was turning around and stopped. She placed her hand on the side of the wall and squinted as she looked at the deck below her feet. "A strong release of energy...that can kill people close enough to her." Quistis brought her hand back down and headed up the stairs to the deck. 

Irvine frowned and looked at Squall. "Squall...you okay with this?" 

"Why wouldn't I be?" Squall said as he tugged his door open. "It's not like I'm going to marry HER," He stepped inside and sent a glare towards Irvine and Zell. "Let's not forget why we're here. To get a dowry for Kadowaki's daughter." The door slammed. 

* * *

The ship was parked in a small run down pier, far away from the larger, more extravagant ships. That's just the way they liked it. Seifer and Raijin had left as soon as they got on the docks to find some manual skilled jobs for extra cash. Quistis and Fujin went for supplies and Selphie was on watch at the deck. 

Irvine and Zell rushed out to land and happily paraded around without the threat of sea sickness washing over them. Squall was still downstairs, in his room, drawing out a map of clues from what he had gathered. Quistis had supplied him with the research that had been left behind by the last party that hired them to take them to the islands. Although, technically they only arrived at the Island Closest to Hell as the party disappeared mysteriously. 

From what Squall gathered, they had believed the treasure to be hidden deep within the heart of the islands. But something didn't just add up. Why would someone HIDE the treasure if it was LOST and supposedly washed up on the islands? With that train of thought, he came up with a conclusion. He believed that they were underwater. 

Following the wave currents with his eyes as he traced it out on the map, he circled and area that might have been where the treasure had landed when it reached the island. Someone knocked on his door. As usual, he ignored it. The knocking continued. 

"Squall," It was HER voice. "I know you're in there." 

He ran his hand down his face and tiredly tossed the map had been studying on to the bed. He sat up and went to open the door. *Hyne...what does she want?* 

Rinoa was standing there quietly, dressed in her usual day clothes as he opened the door. She smiled brightly. "How's your leg?" she asked with a warm smile. 

"It's fine." He replied quickly, just as he had last night. 

"We're going to be resting here for a few days," Rinoa said. She tilted her head to the side. "You want to go look around? The docks and stuff?" 

"No." 

"Oh..." She fidgeted nervously from foot to foot, trying to find something else to say. "Umm..." 

Squall sighed and ran his hand through his thick, unruly brown hair. "I'll meet you up on deck in a few minutes." 

"Really!?" she asked, her brown eyes wide and excited. He nodded and closed the door as soon as she turned around and raced up the narrow lower level corridor. 

Squall leaned his forehead against the door and mentally swore. Seifer and Quistis would kill him if they knew about this. But it wasn't his fault. It was Rinoa's. She's the one who asked. After all, what if she was attacked again? No need to level the entire dock, right? He would be there for any damage control. 

He groaned. *Sure...try and justify it any way you damn well please,* he thought to himself as he opened the closet and reached for his leather jacket. *The truth is you just want to be around her.* 

He headed up to the main deck where Selphie was throwing a disc for Angelo to catch. "Hey, Squall!" she said cheerfully. "You guys want to take Angelo with you!?" 

"Angelo, you want to come?" Rinoa asked as she knelt down and rubbed the dog's neck and kissed Angelo on the head. The dog whined and shook his head. "I guess you're shy then..." 

Angelo barked and Rinoa giggled. "I'll watch him!" Selphie said. "He'll keep me company, huh, boy?" 

Angelo barked once more and Squall shook his head. The only other person he knew who talked to animals like that was his father. Without thinking he spoke. "My father has a cat," he stated suddenly. The two girls looked up at him, surprised he had shared something like that. *Why the hell did I say that?* 

Rinoa smiled. "Ooh! What kind!?" 

"I don't know," he shrugged. "A brown one with blue eyes." 

"Hey, like you!" Selphie piped up. Squall mentally swore once more. Yet another person had pointed out that Laguna's cat had his features. "What's his name?" 

He swore once more. "Squally-poo..." 

Rinoa and Selphie looked at each other and started laughing. "That's so cute!" Rinoa said. She looked at Angelo. "We should go visit and meet Squally-poo, huh, Angelo?" 

The dog snorted and growled bitterly. Selphie and Rinoa immediately went to sooth him, telling him that he'd always be the favorite pet. Squall began to wonder if Selphie wasn't all there either. 

"Okay, well you guys should get going!" Selphie said. "Seifer might be working all through tonight, so we're having a get your own dinner night." 

"Sounds good to me," Rinoa nodded. "C'mon, Squall!" She looped her arm in his and dragged him down the plank. "See you later, Selphie!!" 

"Bye!!" Selphie waved and leaned over the railing. She smiled as she watched them go. Angelo went up on his hind legs and put his forepaws on the railing. "I don't care what Seifer and Quisty say. Squall might help Rin get over her sickness." 

Once more, the dog barked in agreement. 

* * *

"Why did you pick here of all places to dock?" Squall asked as he looked around. Further up the dock, it wasn't anything like the shady area where they had docked the ship. It was filled with people and booths and small stores. With little amusement park rides, it was more of a tourist attraction than a place sailors went to port. 

"Because of THAT!" Rinoa pointed to the roller coaster in the distance and Squall's eyes went large. "There aren't a lot of ports like this so we try to frequent it regularly," Rinoa explained. "You never know when they'll close the boardwalk down, so we try to make the most out of it." 

Squall looked back behind them. That area had been designed for a fish market. He was sure he had seen Seifer and Raijin carrying around blocks of ice through the area as vendors yelled out for people to come and buy fresh fish. Before that, was the seedy section of the docks where they had docked the ship. That was the area of whore houses, bars, and gambling halls. 

He felt a tug on his arm and he turned. "What?" 

"Let's ride it!" she told him energetically as she pulled him towards the wooden coaster. "You're not scared are you?" 

"No!" he said confidently. He grabbed her hand. "Let's go!" Rinoa blushed and nodded as they weaved through the crowds. 

They passed by a hot dog stand were a familiar blond was purchasing one with 'everything' on it. Just as they handed him the hot dog, he turned around and saw two brunettes rushing past him. "Squall? Rinoa?" 

They mingled into the crowd and disappeared from his sight. He shrugged. Irvine was sitting on a bench drinking soda. "Did you see them!?" 

"Yeah!" Zell said as he approached his friend. "Where do you think they're going?" 

Irvine grinned and pointed towards the roller coaster. "Want to go?" Zell grinned. 

"Hell yeah!" 

Rinoa and Squall slipped through the gates and stood in line for the coaster. Rinoa looked exited and Squall smiled slightly. Her hand still held his. "Quistis never goes on these things," Rinoa sighed. "Selphie does, but she always wants to ride at the end and I like the middle." 

"What about the others?" Squall asked. 

Rinoa sighed and rolled her eyes. "Seifer screams too loud! And he swears when there's a drop. It's not good for the kids riding it," Rinoa explained. "Fujin rides it, but she is kind of stoic with things like this and Raijin can't stop talking." 

Squall grinned. He could see all of that happening. "Every time I ride on these with Zell, he ends up getting sick...usually because he ate just before we got on the ride." 

"What about Irvine?" 

"He rarely goes on rides," Squall explained. "Too busy flirting." 

Rinoa giggled. "That's so Irvine," Rinoa looked at Squall. "You know, Selphie kind of likes him," He raised an eyebrow in question and she continued. "Well, at least his butt." 

"What about you?" 

"Me?" Rinoa asked. She thought for a second. "I'm more a face person...smiles mostly, but I love eyes," she said. She smiled at him. "Blue's my favorite color." 

"Brown is fast becoming mine," he told her quietly. Rinoa blushed as they were urged to take a step forward by the person in charge. They would be seated next. He liked it when she blushed. Her eyes would divert themselves and her face with turn red. "So you want to sit on the inside or outside?" 

"Either one." she murmured. They got into one of the middle rows. 

"Do you see them!?" Zell asked as he looked over the people's heads. "Oh, shoot! They're already on the ride!" 

"Leave it to me," Irvine said. He leaned forward to the women in front of him. "Ladies, do you mind letting me go first? I promise I'll make it up to you," He winked and the girls giggled, letting him and Zell pass to be next up. Irvine tapped the shoulder of the young woman in front of him. "Hey, there..." he grinned. Zell rolled his eyes. 

At any rate, they managed to sneak to the back of the coaster and get buckled in. The roller coaster started to move and Zell looked around. "Hey...we're at the end..." 

"Yeah, it was the last one." 

"I don't want to be at the end." 

"Deal with it! We're on this thing so we can spy on Rinoa and Squall," Irvine said. *Selphie will want to know the details...* He looked over the people's head as Rinoa told Squall to hang on. He smiled and nodded. "Did you see that!? He SMILED!" 

"See what?" 

"Weren't you paying attention?" Irvine snapped. 

"There's a corn dog stand over there," Zell said as he pointed below. The coaster was climbing it's first peak. "I was thinking that I haven't had one in a while, so I should go get one." 

Irvine stared at him. "Just watch them!" Irvine sighed. Zell shrugged and looked up ahead. 

His eyes went wide as he saw the steep drop. "Oh crap." 

"AHHH!!!!!" 

"Raise your arms!" Rinoa shouted as hers flew in the air. Squall looked over at her and watched as she screamed. Her hair flew all around her face as her arms swung in the air. 

Squall reluctantly raised his arms for the second drop and allowed his eyes to widen and loose himself in the ride as they plummeted. Before long, he was into the ride, yelling and screaming with the best of them as he sat there a belt around his waist holding him down. At the end of the ride, they stumbled out, arms draped around each other as they laughed. 

"That was pretty good!" Squall said as Rinoa leaned against him for support. 

"We should ride it again later!" Rinoa agreed. "Now what?" 

They looked at each other. Squall grinned. "How do you feel about spinning rides?" 

"I'm there!" Rinoa nodded. Squall took her hand and lead her out of the coaster's area. 

Zell stumbled outside and looked around frantically. Irvine sighed. *This always happens...* he thought to himself. Zell pointed to a bathroom and ran off. *He always gets sick...* The cowboy shook his head and turned just in time to see Rinoa and Squall fly out of the gates and towards another ride. "Damn, he's fast..." 

"Hey, cowboy!" a voice called behind him. Irvine turned around and smirked. Two girls who he had cut in front of earlier were standing there waiting for him. He sighed happily. 

*Oh the sacrifices I make...* he grinned as he approached them and put one arm around each shoulder. "Shall we ladies?" 

Zell came out of the bathroom just as he saw Irvine leave with a woman in either arm. He sighed. *I guess tailing the happy couple is up to me...* He turned around and saw the corn dog stand. *Oh, screw it.* 

Squall brought the bar down over their laps as Rinoa gripped the handle in front of her. She smiled with anticipation as the ride began to start. "I have an idea!" she exclaimed. "Let's ride ALL the rides!" 

Squall chuckled. "Are you sure you're up for it?" 

"Don't tell me you can't handle it," Rinoa said, raising an eyebrow in question. "You graduated as a SeeD, didn't you?" 

"Well riding carnival rides wasn't part of my training," he told her. Rinoa giggled and he glanced down at her. *Hyne, Rinoa...* 

"Whoo-hoo! Here we go!" she shouted. She smiled brightly as the machine began to turn. It sped up, turning faster and faster until they were pasted to the back of the cart they were riding in. 

Afterwards, they stumbled out, Rinoa was a little dizzy, but that passed quickly. She then dragged him to the haunted house. As they sat there in a little cart, Squall put his arm around Rinoa's shoulders. It seemed that all haunted houses were blasted with air conditioning. She didn't seem to dislike the fact that he was holding her. 

*Shit...if Quistis and Seifer saw this...* he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. *Like a moth to a flame...* 

Once they got off the haunted house, Rinoa asked if he was hungry. He shook his head, but she won out and they headed towards a stand to buy some food. Rinoa stood aside and saved them a table was Squall ordered them food. 

"Rinoa!" a voice shouted. The brunette turned around and smiled as she waved at two approaching women. 

"Fujin! Quisty! What are you doing here?" Rinoa asked. They were both holding bags. It seemed that they had just headed from the shopping district. 

"We went to get supplies," Quistis said with a smile. "What are you doing here?" 

"I was getting bored on the ship so I came over here," Rinoa answered. "Selphie didn't feel like leaving so I brought Squall with me." 

"Squall's here, too?" Quistis asked. She cast a worried look over at Fujin. 

"He's buying food," Rinoa told them. "We're going to ride all the rides!" 

Fujin smiled. "Sounds fun." 

Quistis finally caught sight of the brunette walking towards them holding a tray of food. He merely acknowledged her with a nod. "Rinoa made me come," he said as he passed her. "Here's lunch." 

"Great!" Rinoa smiled. He placed the tray in front of her and she began to attack the fries. "You guys want some?" Fujin shook her head. 

"No thank you," Quistis said. She smiled weakly as Squall sat across from Rinoa and reached for a burger. "Well... we have to get going. Have fun." 

Rinoa nodded and waved as Quistis and Fujin turned around. Squall wondered if Rinoa caught the glare that Quistis shot him. He was blatantly ignoring her orders and rather than steer clear of the sorceress, he was growing more attached. "Whoa, look that!" Rinoa pointed to a young woman lugging around a huge white bear. " I wonder where they got that?" 

"Probably one of those games," he mumbled. *Oh crap...does she want one?* He looked up at her as she bit into a sandwich, her eyes still looking over at the huge bear. "You want one?" 

"Huh?" Rinoa turned around and looked at Squall. She smiled. "Kind of..." she shrugged. "But those games are rigged. The chance of winning one is one in a million." 

Squall nodded in agreement and ate his hamburger. "You can waste a lot of money on them." Silence went between them as they ate. She reached for her soda and took a drink as Squall finished off the rest of his hamburger. He threw their trash away and then they headed towards another ride. 

"That's where they got the bear!" Rinoa piped as she stopped. Squall turned around and looked over. It was one of those games where he had to put a wooden ring around the neck of a glass bottle. 

"Hyne, no one ever wins that those things..." Squall sighed. 

"Yeah...I guess you're right..." Rinoa shrugged. "One in a million, right?" Squall watched as she walked past him, looking disappointed. 

*Dammit...* He walked over to the carnie. "Five rings," Squall told him. Rinoa turned around, surprised as Squall took five wooden rings into his hand. "You watching?" he asked, looking over his shoulder. 

Rinoa giggled and nodded as she stood behind him. "Good luck!" 

"Yeah, sure..." He tossed the first one and it bounced off. He held the second on. "Okay...next one..." 

The same thing happened and Rinoa laughed. "You suck!" 

"I'd like to see you try." he snorted. 

"Watch me!" she said. She took two rings from his hand and tossed them. They fell between the bottles and Squall smirked. 

"Oh yeah...you're so skilled." 

"Shut up..." she frowned. 

"Last one," Squall said he lifted up the last ring. "Guess we're not going to make it." He turned around and tossed it over his shoulder. Rinoa sighed and nodded. 

"WINNER!" 

"What?" Rinoa and Squall both whirled around and sure enough, their ring had made it's way to the glass bottle. Rinoa let out a shout of glee as she jumped up. "Yay!! We won!!" 

"Which bear do you want, miss?" the carnie with the red, spiked up hair asked. "The brown one or the white one, ya?" 

"Umm..." Rinoa looked over the two human sized bears. The brown one had a red ribbon and the white one had a blue ribbon. She wanted the brown one, but she also wanted the blue ribbon. *Hard choice...* 

"How much for a brown one with a blue ribbon?" Squall asked. Rinoa turned to him sharply. 

*Is he reading my mind?* 

"I'm sorry, ya," the carnie chuckled sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his neck. "We can't do that-" 

"Fifty gil," Squall stated as he placed the money on the counter. "Switch ribbons." 

"Squall, that's okay," Rinoa assured him. "I'll just take the brown one." 

"With the blue ribbon," Squall added. He glared dangerously at the man who nervously grabbed the large brown bear and switched the ribbon around it's neck with a blue one. "Thanks." 

He took the bear and handed it to Rinoa, who blushed furiously as she hugged the massive stuffed animal. "Thank you!" Rinoa said. She snuggled her head against it and smiled. 

"Might as well get the one you want, right?" Squall shrugged. Rinoa nodded and studied the stuffed animal. 

"I'll name him..." Rinoa thought for a moment. "Oh! I know! I'll name him Squally-poo!" 

Squall began to choke in mid breath and looked at her. "WHY!?" he gasped. Rinoa merely smiled and hugged the bear tighter. 

"It's a cute name!" she exclaimed. "Squally-poo..." 

Squall ran his hand down his face. *I really regret winning it now...* 

"Uh-oh..." Rinoa stopped in her tracks. "How are we going to ride the rides now? We can't just LEAVE or bring Squally-poo." 

"Squally-poo?" a voice said behind them. They turned around and Rinoa peeked out from behind the massive bear she was carrying. Irvine scratched his head. "You're talking about Laguna's cat?" 

"Hey, Irvine!" Rinoa grinned. "Squally-poo is the name of my bear. Squall won him for me." 

Irvine looked over at Squall. *He won her a stuffed animal...oh, this is serious...* "Oh, really..." Squall sent him a glare. 

"Hey, Irvine are you going to ride any rides?" Rinoa said. Irvine shook his head. "Great!" She pushed Squally-poo into his arms. "Take Squally-poo back to the ship, okay? We're going to ride rides! Bye!" 

She grabbed Squall's hand and dragged him away before Irvine had a chance to protest. Irvine's mouth dropped as he was left standing there with a large brown bear in his hands. "Yo, Irvine!" Zell approached him and took a step back. "Where'd you get the bear?" 

"It belongs to Rinoa," Irvine said. He smiled. "They said to tell you to bring it up to the ship for them." 

Zell raised an eyebrow. "Nice try, man, but you're on your own." 

"Damn." 

* * *

"This has been a fun day," Rinoa said as she sat on the beach in front of the boardwalk. Squall sat next to her. "Thanks for coming with me." 

"It was fun," he agreed with a shrug of his shoulders. She was leaning back against her arms as the sun set in the distance. "We should head back soon." 

"We still have to get dinner." 

"We'll grab a hot dog or something on the way back." he shrugged. Rinoa nodded. 

"Hey, Squall," Rinoa said as they sat there. "Why are you here? I mean...you know...on this treasure hunt?" 

He shrugged. "Just because." 

"There has to be a reason," Rinoa said. She looked over at him, the sun dancing across her pale face. "I mean...you're a Leonheart...that's a pretty powerful family." 

He shrugged once more. "Maybe I'm just greedy." 

"I don't think you are," Rinoa said. She looked back at the sunset. "You don't SEEM greedy anyway." 

*I can't tell her the official reason why I'm here...* Squall's mind told him. *Hyne, she'll back away from you completely! But shouldn't you be backing away from her...? You have a marriage ready and waiting for you!* He looked over as Rinoa as the sea breeze went through her dark hair. 

"Let me guess," Rinoa began. She looked thoughtful as she sat there. "You just wanted to escape your family for a while?" 

Squall smirked. "Good guess." 

"I'm right?" she asked, surprised. 

"Yes," Squall answered. He looked over at her. "It's confining there." Rinoa smiled sadly and nodded in agreement. 

"The rules...the formality," she whispered quietly as she looked back the sunset. "The pain..." Her eyes narrowed slightly and for a few moments, he was sure he had lost her to her thoughts. 

"I saw the picture on your desk," Squall said as he turned his head away. "The one with you, Quistis, and Selphie..." 

"Oh..." Rinoa trailed off. "Yeah..." 

"I also saw a small family portrait," Squall said. He looked over at her. Her face seemed to drain in all color. "So now you tell me. What are YOU doing HERE?" 

* * *

Irvine dumped the huge bear into Rinoa's room and glared at it. He had gotten so many stares as he walked down the docks carrying that horrendous thing. It had gotten especially weird when he passed the shady part of the docks. Other men were snickering as he pointed at him. Selphie had run down to greet him and squealed at the sight of the bear. 

"I can't believe they won one of these things!" Selphie exclaimed. "The chances of them actually getting one is so small!" 

"Yeah, well, they got one," Irvine grumbled. "AND made me bring it back so they could ride some more rides." 

"Irvy..." Selphie said, making a pouting face as she stood at the door way of the room. "Will you get me a bear, too...?" 

"Selphie..." he sighed pitifully. "The chances of getting one are so small...who knows how much Squall spent getting this for Rinoa." 

Selphie thought and nodded. She smiled. "Okay! Then I'll get one tomorrow!" Irvine grinned. 

"How about we both try?" 

"Sounds good to me!" Selphie said. 

"Have Rinoa and Squall returned yet?" a voice asked behind them. They turned around and saw Quistis walking towards them. 

"Nope! Why?" Selphie asked. 

"Because Seifer will be fuming if he finds out that Squall's running around with Rinoa," Quistis sighed. "You know how protective he gets." 

"Oh boy..." Selphie mumbled. She looked at Irvine. "Where did you last see them?" 

"It was a while ago-" 

"We have to find them before Seifer does!" Selphie explained. "Quisty, cover the ship!" 

"All right. Hurry up!" Quistis said. 

Selphie let out a whistle. "Angelo! C'mon boy!" The furry dog rushed over and wagged his tail. "We have to go find your mommy!" 

* * *

"Same reason as you," Rinoa answered as she looked away. "To get away from my family." 

Squall narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "By why on a ship?" 

"The ship can take me wherever I want," Rinoa sighed. "I'm not bound stay in once place. I have a home on that ship and I can take it anywhere with me." 

"Do you ever plan on returning?" Squall asked. Rinoa shook her head. 

"I don't know," she whispered. "Sometimes, though, I don't want to ever return. Quistis is happy on the ship. Selphie loves traveling. This is a sort of freedom we never had back home." 

"You're from a powerful family, aren't you?" Squall asked. "Your father wore the suit of a general." 

Rinoa nodded. "I'd rather not talk about it, Squall," she said. "My father...we left on bad terms." 

"Does your family want you to return?" he whispered. 

"Yeah..." Rinoa mumbled. "It's not often a sorceress is born into a family..." She looked over at him, knowing he already knew. "I'm sure they told you by now." 

"That doesn't matter," Squall asserted. "Don't they want you to return...just for being you?" 

Rinoa let out a bitter laugh and shook her head. "Hyne, I wish!" she exclaimed bitterly. "I'm a pawn, Squall. That's all I'll ever be to them. Nothing more than a tool to use to gain an advantage." 

"I think that every child born into a family like ours is a pawn," Squall agreed. He turned back and looked at the board walk. It was now completely lit up as darkness consumed the area. He could make out many people walking around it at night. "I envy the masses..." 

Rinoa nodded and smiled slightly. "Love is a commodity only afforded by the poor," she sighed. "If I could be anyone, I'd be like Fujin or Seifer or Raijin. They don't have to worry about the pressures of social hierarchy or keeping a facade or arranged marriages. They're free spirits..." 

"You're a free spirit," Squall commented. "You go where you want to go." 

"I also have to avoid certain places," Rinoa added. "It's not as fun as it seems." 

"Nothing ever is." 

Rinoa grinned. "The roller coaster was," He smirked. As he turned to look at her once more, he heard barking. Rinoa sat up straight. "Angelo?" she asked, looking around. In the distance, she saw a dog running towards and turned to sit on her knees. "Angelo! Here boy!" 

The dog bounded towards her and licked her face as he approached. He nudged Squall's shoulder before he licked Squall's face. The brunette tried to turn his head away, but Angelo still got him. Rinoa giggled. "What is he doing off the ship?" Squall grumbled Angelo stood beside him. He stood up to escape the dog. 

Rinoa stood up and heard someone yelling. "Oh...they must've come to find us," she said as she saw Selphie running over the sand with Irvine behind her. "Hi!" 

"You better get back on the boat before Seifer finds out that you're with Squall!" Selphie gasped out quickly. 

Rinoa frowned. "What do you mean?" she asked, annoyed. "What difference does it make that I'm with Squall?" 

"You KNOW how he is, Rin," Selphie began. "He's worried about you." 

Rinoa narrowed her eyes. "No!" she said stubbornly. "I'm not going to go yet." 

"But, Rin-" Selphie began, Rinoa shook her head. 

"We still have to get dinner." 

"We can get it on the way back," Squall said. "Let's go." 

"Wait! Why do we have to listen to Seifer!?" Rinoa shouted. 

"Because I'm just worried about you!" a voice growled. Rinoa froze. Slowly she turned around and saw Seifer standing there. 

"Rinoa," Quistis said behind Seifer. She looked extremely concerned. "Your powers..." 

"I know, I know..." Rinoa let out a deep breath. "It's not MY fault I was born with them..." she whispered. "It's like I'm being punished." 

"We're not trying to punish you, honey," Quistis assured her softly. "We just want what's best for you." 

Selphie bit her lip and shook her head as Quistis said that. Immediately, the tall blond female regretted what she said. Rinoa glared at her. "You are NOT my father!" she shouted. "You are supposed to be my FRIEND!" 

"Rinoa!" Quistis called as the girl turned and ran. Seifer ran after her and she turned around. A screaming match began. 

The group stood there as Seifer and Rinoa screamed at each other. "It's none of your business anyway!" Rinoa screamed. 

"If we all die, I'll make it my business!" 

"You're treating me like I'm sort of animal that has to be caged!" Rinoa shouted back. She was in tears. "I hate you, Seifer!" 

Whirling around, she ran up the rest of the way and towards the boardwalk. Angelo ran after her, as Selphie and Quistis darted after him. Seifer let out a deep breath. *Hyne, she's so stubborn...* 

Squall looked at Irvine. "I'm going to go for a walk." 

"Squall..." Irvine trialed off and sighed as the young man walked down to the edge of the water. He turned around and saw Seifer heading back up to the board walk. 

* * *

It was getting late and Squall looked around the vacant boardwalk. Only a few people were left behind, mostly those closing up their booths. As he walked, he wondered about Rinoa. Is that why they had told him not to get close to her? Because she was a sorceress and therefore dangerous? It didn't make sense. 

It seemed that everyone else was able to get close. He even noticed how close she got to Zell and Irvine, yet he didn't hear Seifer or Quistis giving them any warnings. Then Quistis' words came to haunt him. He was drawn to her, like she said. A simple look on her face could make him happy or sad. 

He shoved his hands in his pocket. He shouldn't even be getting close to her in the first place. He felt something in his pocket and lifted up a small strip of paper. His eyes squinted as he recognized the five snap shots of him and Rinoa in a photo booth. She had wanted to 'remember the day'. 

He smiled thoughtfully. She had pulled him into a booth and paid. The first picture had him frowning and her smiling. The second picture also had him frowning, but this time, she was frowning, too. She had been trying to imitate him. The third picture was him caught in mid sentence as she laughed. The forth one had been memorable as she sat on his lap and kissed his cheek. He carried a surprised look on his face. 

He had to remember to give Rinoa that one since she announced that she wanted that particular picture. The last one was a good picture of them both. They were smiling at the camera and he hand his arms around her as she pressed her head against his. He would keep that one for himself. 

"I saw you today walking with the sorceress." a voice said behind him. Squall immediately shoved the picture in his pocket and whirled around. 

"Who the hell-" 

"I advise you to keep your distance from her," the voice said. Squall turned around. He was sure that voice didn't belong to Seifer. It was deep and refined. "Her last tryst ended up dead." 

"Who are you!?" Squall growled. He caught something move from the corner of his eye. Someone was in the shadows of an alley to his right. He quickly ran after it. "How do you know who she is!?" 

He caught a glimpse of red and black disappear into the alley as he reached it. His eyes narrowed. He didn't care what Rinoa was. Rinoa was Rinoa and that's all that mattered to him. 

* * *

Rinoa snuggled into Squally-poo as she brought her blanket up to her chest and buried her head in her knees. She sniffled. *How could they treat me like this? It was like I have to be watched at all times! What did they think I'm going to do? Explode?* 

She rubbed her eyes and looked at the clock. It was midnight. The others had returned and were probably in bed by now. Every now and then, she would see a light pass by her door. Probably someone doing their rounds. Angelo slept at the foot of her bed. In the darkness, she looked up. 

There was a gentle tapping on window by her desk. Narrowing her eyes, she slid off the bed and headed over. She pulled the curtains aside and gasped. "Squall!?" 

"Shh..." he whispered. He was hanging from a rope that was probably tied to the upper level's railing. "Can I come in?" 

Rinoa nodded and stepped aside, reaching out to help him as he shimmied through the window and on to her desk. "What are you doing?" 

"Are you all right?" he whispered quietly. Rinoa nodded slowly. 

"I'm okay..." 

He narrowed his eyes and gently cupped her face in his hand. "No you're not..." he told her intently. 

Rinoa sniffled and wiped her eyes. "I know they love me," she stammered. "But they keep me caged up all the time and make me feel like I'm some animal at the zoo!" 

Slowly, she leaned forward, putting her body against Squall's. *Hug her!* his mind screamed. Hesitantly, his arms encircled her. One his arms were secure around her, he tightened his hold and relished the feel of her body in his arms. 

"I can't be dormant forever," she whispered. "I don't want to hurt people." 

"I know..." 

Rinoa pressed her forehead against his chin and slowly trailed her nose up to touch his. Her lips parted slowly as her down cast eyes briefly looked up to meet his. Her eyes closed as her lips went around his lower lip and gently tugged in. Squall closed his eyes and lowered his head, pressing his lips against her full pink ones. 

Her hands went up and placed themselves against his shoulder as her palms roamed over his shoulder and down his back. Squall's right hand went to the small of her back, keeping her against him as his left hand gently stroked her upper right arm. 

Something warm slipped into her mouth and coaxed hers to play with it. She leaned upwards, trying to be closer to him as his stray hairs tickled her cheeks. She took a step back and gasped as she fell backwards on to her bed, bringing Squall with her. 

Unperturbed, his lips remained on hers before trailing down the side of her face and down her neck. She smiled as the feeling of warmth washed over her. His hands ran up the length of her arms and moved her hands up over her head. He kissed her shoulder. Suddenly her body grew stiff. Her chocolate eyes suddenly flashed open. 

_"Let me go!" _

"Just enjoy it!" 

"Please stop! You're hurting me!" 

The pressure was on her wrists. She could feel her legs being pulled open as her breathing grew shallow. She struggled to keep them closed, although in reality there was no need. At the sign of tension, Squall immediately pulled away. "Rinoa?" he asked gently. 

She laid on the bed, her eyes wide open as tears poured from them. She was shaking and looking around wildly. Her eyes finally settled on the concerned young man standing over her. His rich blue eyes looked down at her softly. "I..." she gasped out. "I'm...so...sor... sorry..." she stammered out in broken sobs. 

"Rinoa, what's wrong?" Squall asked, now very worried. He reached towards her and she pulled back. She quickly scrambled to her knees on the bed and crawled backwards. She pushed herself up against her new stuffed animal and wrapped her arms around herself. 

"I'm...I'm sick..." she stammered. 

"Do you need medicine?" Squall asked dumbly as he tried to study her. "Do you need anything at all, Rinoa? Just tell me-" 

"No!" she gasped. She shook her head wildly. "I'm not sick sick..." she tried to explain behind her tears. Her knees were now pulled up to her chest. Rinoa raised her hand and tapped her index finger on her head. "I'm sick in here..." 

"Rinoa..." 

"Please go, Squall..." she whispered quietly. She turned her head away sharply. "I'm sorry..." 

Squall slid off the bed and looked at her concerned. "I'm sorry if I hurt you..." he whispered. He quickly climbed out the window and grabbed the rope. Rinoa closed her eyes and put her face between her knees. 

It had almost happened again. 


	4. Secrets

**Thief's Treasure**  
_Chapter Four: Secrets_  
By PasifiKStaR

Author's Note: Aleleme - I want to email you, but I don't have your email. Can you send it to me, please? Thanks a bunch! Everyone - Thanks for the reviews so far! I think this will be a relatively short story at this point. Umm...short compared to my other story. ^_^

*All Standard Disclaimers Apply - I do not own Final Fantasy or it's characters. 

* * *

Squall punched the door and winced. *Shit!!* He leaned his head against it and let out a deep breath. Whatever he did scared Rinoa. He closed his eyes as he was haunted by the look on her face. Her panic stricken eyes. Her trembling lips. And the tears. Oh, Hyne, how there were so many tears. 

*I shouldn't have kissed her,* he concluded. He leaned his head back sighed. *But, damn, it was good...* His breath was shallow as the warmth that went through his body had yet to subside. He could still taste her lips on his. The warmth of her tongue running against his. The feel of her arms as they caressed his shoulders. 

And he would never have that again. He couldn't have Rinoa. He SHOULDN'T have Rinoa. *You bastard...* he cracked a pitiful smile and shook his head as he leaned back against the door and slid down to the floor. *You have a fiancée waiting for you at home. But instead you're here kissing some other woman. You're going straight to hell.* 

* * *

Rinoa ran her hand through her thick hair and looked around the room. It felt so good. It felt so right. She sniffled and wiped her nose. *I'm sorry, Squall...* she thought to herself. *It's not you...* 

She looked up at the open window that Squall had disappeared out of with a forlorn look. It wasn't fair. Why did her body have to react like that if she wasn't feeling any pain or fear? She had felt completely safe with him. Enclosed his arms, she felt as if the world couldn't hurt her. 

She suddenly felt dirty. She wasn't good enough for him. *I'm dirty and damaged...he'd never want me...* Quietly, she stood up and headed for her bathroom, stripping off her night gown as she headed there. Angelo's head perked up and he let out a whimper. 

* * *

Selphie walked up the stairs happily to the deck. It was her week to feed Angelo and she was going to Rinoa's door to get the dog. Her humming immediately stopped and she paused. She heard scratching at the base of the captain's door. She pulled out the key and quickly unlocked it, pulling it open. 

Angelo nearly tumbled out, whimpering as he walked up behind Selphie and nudged her knees into the room. "Angelo? What's wrong?" Selphie asked quietly. Angelo kept whimpering as he pushed her knees. "Angelo!" The dog moved aside and jumped back into the room. Jumping up and down and barking, he tried to get Selphie to follow him. "Yes, Angelo, I'm going to feed you. Now come on, you'll wake up Rinoa." 

Angelo whimpered and barked some more as he went further and further into the room. Selphie sighed and followed him in, about to drag him out by the collar when she turned and saw the empty space in Rinoa's bed. Her eyes furrowed. 

"Rinoa!?" she called out. She walked over to the open window and peeked outside. "Rinoa!" she called out again, louder this time. 

Behind her Angelo barked and she turned around. The dog was leading her into the bathroom. Selphie's heart began to beat quickly as she stumbled into the darkened room. "Rinoa!?" she yelled once more. She put her hand along the wall and searched for the light switch. She finally found it and turned it on. 

Her green eyes went wide as she beheld the image in front of her. Her scream echoed through the cabin as she dashed out. She nearly slipped as she ran out of the captain's cabin. "QUISTIS!!" she jumped down into the lower deck. "SEIFER! QUISTIS!!" she screamed. 

Squall, who had already been awake, opened his door and looked outside. Selphie was already dressed in her day clothes and was pounding on Quistis and Seifer's doors, which were right across from each other. The brown haired girl with the emerald eyes was crying as she screamed for them to get up. 

"Selphie, what's wrong?" Squall asked as he quickly came out of his room. 

Selphie's eyes were pouring out tears as she struggled to contain her breath. "It's Rinoa!" she gasped out. Before she could explain further, Squall rushed past her and up the stairs. 

Quistis' door opened just before Seifer's. "What's wrong?" Quistis gasped as she put on her robe over her long night gown. "Selphie, why are you crying?!" 

Quistis' voice was full of panic as Selphie crumpled to the floor sobbing. "Rinoa's DEAD!!" 

Upstairs, Squall dashed across the deck to the wide open door across from him. He ran in and looked around. Her bed wasn't made and her night gown had been dropped on the floor. "Rinoa!?" he shouted. He heard barking inside the bathroom and rushed in. "Merciful Hyne..." 

His eyes went just as wide as Selphie's as he looked down at the white porcelain tub. Rinoa was leaning back against the side of the tub, her arms hanging off the sides. Her head was tilted forward as long dark hair dipped into the warm water. Squall swallowed hard. 

The water was red. Without another thought, he put his arms into the tub and brought her against him, pulling her out of the blood soaked tub as drops of diluted blood water dripped from her pale body. He lifted her out and looked down at her face. 

"Hyne!" a voice said at the door way. Quistis and Seifer had arrived just as Squall turned around. Quistis had her hand covering her mouth as Seifer stepped back and turned his head away. 

"Get towels," Squall hissed. Neither blond moved from their spot. "GET TOWELS!" he growled viciously. 

Stumbling, Quistis turned around and headed for the closet. Squall didn't care that the water that went up with Rinoa was now coursing down his own skin. He put his head against Rinoa's and gently kissed the top of her head. "Towels!" Quistis gasped as she ran in. She held a large white towel wide open and covered Rinoa's body with it as Squall walked past her and out the door. 

"Put some on the bed," he snapped angrily. "Get her some clothes!" 

He didn't notice Selphie standing at the door way, clinging on to the door frame as Fujin looked in with a worried expression on her face. Slowly, Squall gently placed Rinoa on her bed after Quistis put two layers of towels over the part she would lay in. Squall knelt down and gently stroked Rinoa's hair before looking over her body. 

Selphie slowly walked in, her face pale and streaked with tears as Fujin helped her stand up. "Is she...?" she began quietly. 

Squall nodded. "She's alive." he whispered. 

"Drain the tub," Quistis told Seifer. The blond male nodded and walked into the bathroom to face the bloody tub once more. "Check her wrists, Squall." 

Doing what she told him to, Squall gingerly lifted Rinoa's wrists and were relieved to find that she didn't slit them. Quistis laid out some clothes for Rinoa. "Where did all the blood come from?" Squall whispered quietly. 

"The water is still warm," Seifer said as he walked out. "It must've been boiling when she stepped in it." 

"Oh, Hyne, Rinoa..." Quistis whispered softly. "You're doing it again..." 

"She scrubbed herself," Selphie whispered sadly. "That's why she was bleeding...look at the welts on her thighs and hips..." 

"Why would she scrub there?" Squall asked. Quistis and Selphie didn't answer. 

Slowly, Rinoa's head turned slightly. She winced as she felt the throbbing pain that burned around her thighs. Her breathing was shallow and broken as Squall looked over at her, desperately trying to see if she'd recognize him. "Squ..." she breathed out roughly. "Squall..." she swallowed and blinked slowly. Her eyes remained squinted as she turned to look at him. "Sorry..." she breathed out. 

"No..." Squall said softly. "No, you have nothing to be sorry about..." he gently ran his left hand over the side of her face, taking pleasure in the small smile she gave at his touch. 

"I'm no good," Rinoa breathed out. "I'm damaged..." 

"What is she talking about?" Seifer asked behind Quistis. 

The female blond turned around. "Selphie, Fujin...not a word of this to Irvine and Zell," Quistis said sternly. The two other women nodded. "Seifer," she turned to look at him with a sad smile. "Seifer, baby, can you leave them alone for a while...?" She put her hands on the collar of his jacket as she tried to turn him. 

Seifer narrowed is eyes suspiciously. "Why?" he whispered quietly. Quistis leaned forward and put her head against his chest and took a deep breath. 

"Please, baby..." she pleaded quietly. Seifer looked serious as put his arm around Quistis' shoulders and nodded. He lead her out, casting one last warning look at Squall before they exited. The door closed. 

"What do you mean?" Squall asked quietly as he caressed her hair gently. 

She smiled sadly. "No one wants me," she said softly. Her eyes moved from his to the ceiling. "Because I'm dirty." 

Squall's eyes went wide. She wasn't mugged. Something else happened and as he put all the clues together, he realized what. "Rinoa..." he whispered. "Were you...?" he asked in a shaking voice. 

Her eyes closed and she nodded. "I was raped a when I was sixteen," she whispered quietly. Her voice was unnaturally clear and Squall felt anger boiling up. "That's when my powers first appeared." 

"How?" Squall asked quietly. 

Rinoa stared up at the ceiling. "My powers were dormant...and then when...the rape...," she swallowed hard and had a pained look on her face. "I'm not sure how it happened... but all I remember is this burst of white light and I heard screaming...a few seconds later, Quistis and Selphie rushed into my room..." 

"And you ran away from home." Squall concluded. Rinoa nodded her head. 

Her lips trembled as she began to cry. Her chest rose up and down under the towel placed over her body as she struggled to contain her sobs. "They were going to marry me," she choked out. "They were going to marry me to HIM." 

"Shh..." Squall gently placed his finger tip on her lips. She tilted her head to look at him. He looked so worried as soft brown hair fell over his face. His shirtless chest had the remains of red water against his pale skin. "Rinoa...you have an arranged marriage?" 

She nodded slowly. "I didn't want to marry him," she cried out. "But I did it for my family..." her lips trembled as sweat appeared on her forehead. "He was older than me...much older. They trusted him." She closed her eyes tightly. 

"I'm sorry..." he whispered quietly. "I didn't know...I shouldn't have-" 

"It's not your fault," she told him softly. "I'm the one whose damaged." 

Squall's head jerked up and he narrowed his eyes. "Don't EVER say that," he scolded her. Her tear filled brown eyes turned to meet his. He could see the pain in her eyes. "You're not damaged. You're not broken. Or sick. Or dirty," he assured her. "You're smart...fun... and beautiful." 

Rinoa began to choke her tears as she squeezed his hand. "But I am damaged..." she insisted. "I can't...I can't BE with a man any more," she whimpered tearfully. "You saw what happened. My body froze...if you hadn't stopped when you did..." She swallowed. "You wouldn't be alive any more..." 

Squall's eyes went up in panic. Was she really that dangerous? It was coming out of her own mouth. "I'm sorry..." he mumbled once more. "I won't...I won't do that any more." he told her solemnly. 

She turned her head away. *It's not that I don't want you to do it any more...* she thought to herself. *I just don't want to hurt you.* 

She felt him release her hand and a wave of sadness ran through her frail body. She tilted her head and watched him stand up. "I'll send Quistis or Selphie or Fujin in..." he mumbled. He looked down at her regretfully and then quickly walked out of the room. 

As the door closed, Rinoa closed her eyes once more and bit her lower lip. "I don't want you to go..." 

* * *

Squall looked out at the horizon as he put his gun blade down after intense single person training. He took a deep breath and wiped his brow with his arm. His leather jacket was tossed over some rocks on the beach. The sun was setting and the moon over head was large and full. Suddenly, he heard a familiar sound behind him and grabbed his gun blade. 

He swung it over his shoulder and held it up as a black metal blade slammed into the silver colored blade of his. He narrowed his blue eyes as amused green ones looked back at him. "I see you haven't lost your touch, puberty boy." 

"What the hell do you want, Seifer?" Squall hissed. He had spent the entire day way from the ship. And away from Rinoa. "Are you here to try to beat me up for getting close to Rinoa?" 

"As much as I'd love to," Seifer said as he pulled back Hyperion and stood a few steps from Squall. "Quisty and Selphie had a little discussion with me about that." 

"You don't have to worry," Squall hissed. "I'm not supposed to be getting close to other women anyway." 

Seifer raised an eyebrow. "How's that? You swing the other way now?" 

Squall glared at him and lifted his gun blade. It slammed into Seifer's as the two began a dance they had started years ago. As metal hit metal and sparks flew, Squall began to vent his frustration into the battle. "I'm arranged." he stated simply. 

Seifer's eyes went wide and turned into a furious glare as his hits became harder. "What do you MEAN you're ARRANGED!?" he hissed. 

"I'm supposed to marry a woman I've never met before!" Squall hissed in return. 

"You BASTARD!" Seifer growled as he began to move Squall further back. "You're leading her on!" 

"I didn't mean to!" Squall shouted. "Do you think I like it!? I'm supposed to be married and I'm-" 

"And you're screwing around with Rinoa!" Seifer growled bitterly. "How dare you play with her heart like that!? After all she's been through!?" 

"I don't want to hurt her!" 

"So what? You think she'll squeal happily and wish you the best wishes with the other woman when you tell her!?" Seifer growled. "What kind of a heartless bastard are you!?" 

"I care about her!" Squall retorted. *Hyne, she's perfect!* His gun blade pushed Seifer's back. "Don't get me wrong, Almasy! I'm not doing this to hurt her!" 

"What are you doing it for then?!" Seifer yelled. "For FUN?" 

"I never meant to fall in love with Rinoa!" Squall shouted as one final heated stroke of the gun blade pushed both them away from each other. They stood there, breathing heavily as they faced each other. Sweat dripped from their bodies as the handles of their weapons were gripped tightly in their hands. 

"When are you going to tell her?" Seifer asked. "You can't just lead her on like this." 

"Don't you think I know that?" Squall snapped. He impaled the gun blade in the sand and ran a hand through his hair. "I didn't think this would happen..." he admitted sadly. "I never even thought for a second..." 

Seifer also slammed his blade into the ground and sat down next to it tiredly. "I just hope that when you tell her..." 

"I don't want to have to tell her," Squall mumbled. "But I have to." 

"Since you don't love the other lady, why don't you just stay with Rin?" Seifer asked casually. "That's what I would do." 

"That's because you're an idiot without any idea what the hell is going on or what the consequences would be." Squall grumbled under his breath. Seifer glared at him. 

"I may be an idiot," Seifer shrugged. "But I'd be an idiot in love." 

"What happened to 'stay the hell away from Rinoa'?" Squall scoffed. 

Seifer grinned. "Selphie has this strange theory that you're the one that can 'cure' Rinoa," he snorted. "While I disagree completely, the girls are willing to risk their lives so you can be close to her and help her." 

"And why do they think that?" Squall asked. He sounded bored, but was genuinely interested in the answer. 

"It seems that the cowboy and chicken-wuss tailed you the other day," Seifer mumbled. "From what they said, it seemed that you made Rin very happy. Also, what is up with that damn bear?" 

Squall couldn't help but smirk. "I won that for her." 

"WHY?" Seifer asked. "That piece of crap is taking up so much space..." 

"Well, you two look like you're having fun talking," an amused voice said behind them. Immediately, the two males jumped up and grabbed the gun blades. Quistis raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms. "Don't mind me...just continue with your male bonding." 

"Bonding? With Mr. Violent?" Squall asked with a seemingly confused look. Quistis smirked. 

"We're not BONDING!" Seifer hissed. "And what are you doing here?" 

Quistis frowned and walked over to him. She grabbed his collar and brought him down to face her. "You are neglecting your JOB again." 

Seifer winced. "Dinner...right..." 

"Yeah," Quistis said. She shoved him away. "Get going. I expect something good to eat!" 

"Psst...you'll eat what I make, picky pain in the a-" 

"Seifer..." Quistis warned. 

"My darling little Quisty pie." Seifer ended. Grumbling he headed for the docks once more. Quistis turned to Squall. 

"Squall, when you are going to head back?" she asked. "Rinoa's out of bed and up and about." 

*I don't think I'm ready to face her yet...* Squall shrugged. "Later. I just want to practice some more." he lied. Quistis merely nodded and headed back after Seifer. He was almost to the path way when she jumped him from behind and put her long legs around his waist and her arms around his neck. 

"Carry me back!" she demanded. 

"Get off me, woman!" he growled back. 

"Hell no! I had to go out of my way to get you!" she scoffed. "Now move!" Seifer seemed to give in and headed up the path while giving Quistis a piggy back ride. 

Squall looked around. The endless sky looked down at him as fell back against the sand and stared at it's darkness. As he sat there, a shooting star went across the sky. 

* * *

Rinoa watched as the star went across the sky. She smiled and leaned forward on the railing. She was wearing a loose red dress, as she had scrubbed parts of herself quite raw the night before. She closed her eyes as the cool sea breeze swept past her body. Her dark hair was swept back and she ran a pale hand through it's darkness. 

Selphie and Irvine had vanished earlier that day with Selphie announcing that she was on a mission to attain a large stuffed bear like Rinoa's. She had wished them good luck. Irvine had asked her how many times it took for them to get the bear and Rinoa shocked him by saying that Squall had won it by tossing the last of five rings over his shoulder as they left the booth. 

Zell had just returned. "Rinoa!" he shouted. "I got that cotton candy you wanted!" 

She turned and smiled. "Thanks, Zell!" she said. "How much do I owe you?" 

"Don't worry about it," Zell said as he handed her the sack of pink fluffy sugar. "Oh hey, you won't believe this," he said with wide eyes. "But Selphie and Irvine were walking down the boardwalk with these two huge bears." 

Rinoa let out a shocked gasped with a smile. "Are you serious!?" she gasped. "They actually won TWO?" 

"That's what I was thinking!" Zell agreed. "It's hard enough to win one, right? But TWO? They have one white one and one brown one." 

"That's great!" Rinoa paused and frowned. "Wait a second...will they fit downstairs?" 

Zell shrugged as he headed for the lower deck. "I think she wanted to put them in the lounge," he headed down the stairs. "Can you get me for dinner?" 

"Yep!" Rinoa nodded. He disappeared below deck and Rinoa shook her head, still amazed that they had managed to actually win TWO. One she could believe, but TWO? *Heh...maybe Irvine held a gun to the guys' head...hehehe..* 

As she smirked, Fujin walked down the stairs from the steering room on the top level. "Okay?" she asked with a warm smile. 

Rinoa nodded and leaned her head against Fujin's shoulder in a little sister like fashion. "Yeah..." she sighed. "I really like him, Fujin." 

"I know," Fujin chuckled. "Real cute." 

"Tell me about it," Rinoa agreed. She leaned back on the railing and sighed. "He has the most gorgeous eyes...and his smile is so sexy. Oh, and last night, don't tell anyone this, okay, Fujin? But he KISSED me." 

"Uh...Rinoa..." Fujin mumbled. 

"It was so amazing!" Rinoa sighed, completely lost in thought. "I was in absolute heaven... his lips were so soft and warm..." 

"Rinoa..." Fujin trailed off, warningly. 

"And...damn! I didn't get a chance to run my hand through his hair!" 

"Seifer!" Fujin shouted. Rinoa's eyes went wide as she whirled around. Seifer was standing there, looking highly disturbed as Quistis smiled warmly. 

"So...how did he taste?" Quistis said. Seifer turned on his heel and headed straight for the kitchen. 

"Hear no evil...see no evil...hear no evil...visualize no evil..." he mumbled to himself. Quistis shook her head and walked over to Rinoa and Fujin. 

"He kissed you, huh?" Quistis said. "How was it?" 

Rinoa lapsed into a dream like state as she smiled. "It was great..." 

Both Quistis and Fujin laughed. "Do you really like him?" 

"Like him?" Rinoa asked, her eyes wide. "I want him for my birthday! With a bow and everything!" 

"Only bow?" Fujin asked, raising an eyebrow. 

Rinoa blushed and grinned stupidly. "If that's the case, then forget the bow all together." They all giggled. 

"Shut up!" Seifer shouted from the kitchen. "You three are sick!" 

"Have you guys seen Squall," Rinoa asked seriously. "I kind of wanted to talk to him." 

"He was practicing his gun blade on the beach." Quistis said. 

"Oh...I'll go see him!" Rinoa announced. 

"Rinoa-" 

"I'll be safe!" Rinoa assured her. "Just let me go get my shooting star and I'll even bring Angelo." 

"Rinoa..." Quistis said reluctantly. Rinoa sighed and turned to Quistis before she reached her room. 

"Quistis," she said. "Please..." 

Letting out a heavy sigh, she moved to the side, giving Rinoa a clear path to the plank. Rinoa smiled. 

* * *

Angelo sniffed the ground next to Rinoa as the girl walked down the light bulb lit boardwalk. Angelo barked and pointed to a stage constructed on the sand. Many people were surrounding it as a band played on the stage. 

"Maybe later, Angelo." Rinoa sighed. She walked past the stage and on to the sand. She looked around and saw a young man sitting on the stand with a gun blade impaled in the packed sand next to him. Smiling she pointed and Angelo ran over. 

"What the!?" Squall looked surprised as the dog appeared out of no where, barking and licking his face. "Oh, Hyne! Angelo!" 

Rinoa giggled as she approached him. Squall looked up and paused. Rinoa's red dress swam just below her knees as it's low cut v-neck and sleeveless arms revealed a lot of skin. She smiled as she stood there, her hands behind her back as soft dark hair went around her face. "Hey." 

"Hey..." he mumbled. The band on the stage was playing a ballad and Rinoa began to chew nervously on her bottom lip. "How are you feeling?" 

"Good!" she piped up cheerfully. "Good..." she trailed off. 

"I think we need to talk." he stated. Rinoa jerked her head back quickly and then slowly let it look down at her feet. She nodded. 

"I do, too..." she agreed. Squall stood up and dusted himself off. He looked over at Rinoa and opened his mouth. 

Nothing came out. He looked down and closed his eyes. He swallowed hard, trying to find the right words to tell her the reason why he was there in the first place. At least the 'official' reason. She slowly looked up at him. Past long, dark lashes, lovely brown eyes met his icy blue ones. 

*I can't leave her...* Squall thought to himself. "I'm in love with you." 

Rinoa's eyes shot wide open at his words. Without a second, though, Squall leaned down and kissed her lips once more. Rinoa closed her eyes and whole heartedly accepted his kiss she put her arms around his neck. She closed her eyes tightly, praying that the moment wouldn't end. 

As she parted from him, she looked up with a smile. "Squall..." 

"I just want to be with you forever," he whispered quietly. "I don't know why...I just...do..." 

Rinoa's eyes water and she threw her arms around him tighter. Her lips fastened on his as he closed his own eyes and held her tightly against him. Squall hands ran up and down her back and kept her close. Her fingers went through his thick, sweat drenched hair and tugged against it gently. 

A man watched in the distance and shook his head. He would get to her later. 

* * *

Rinoa woke up. The soft flute music drew her up. It was so familiar. *Where have I heard that music before...* she thought to herself. She opened her window and the sound came in clearer. She narrowed her eyes as she put her slippers on and grabbed Squall's jacket from where it had been hanging on the foot of her bed. 

Quietly, she opened the door and stuck her head out. The fog was thick and covered the area in a hazy mist. She listened for the sound of footsteps walking around on deck and decided that no one else was up. Quietly, she headed towards the side of the ship that was tied to the dock. Looking around. She jumped from the edge of the ship and on to the dock with surreal grace. 

Rinoa tugged the warm leather jacket that was graced with Squall's scent around her. From the corner, underneath the stairs leading to the steering room, blue eyes flashed opened and narrowed. Clutching a heavy gun blade in his hands, Squall stood up. 

On the docks, Rinoa followed the faint sound of a flute to the edge of the pier. "And here I thought you were going to sleep through it." 

Rinoa recognized the deep, masculine voice instantly and rolled her eyes. "I'm not THAT bad," she sighed. She could barely make out the tall man standing in front of her. She smiled slightly. "To what do I owe this visit?" 

"Your father wants you to come home," the man told her. "He's on the verge of putting out a military order to bring you home." 

Rinoa's eyes went wide open. "WHY!?" she gasped. "The last time we spoke he practically disowned me!" 

"Apparently he found someone willing to marry you." Rinoa's heart stopped. 

"No...that's a lie..." she mumbled as her face drained of all color. She took a step forward and shook her head. "It's not true, is it!?" 

"Afraid it's so," the man told her. "Are you sure you want to keep running?" 

"I'll run to the end of the world if I have to!" Rinoa snapped. "I'm not going back there!" Her arms wrapped around herself. 

"So be it," the man nodded slowly, allowing long dark hair to fall over his face. "Rin...about Leonheart." 

"You saw him!?" Rinoa gasped. 

"It wasn't hard to catch you two making out on the beach." Rinoa turned bright red as the man let out a soft chuckle. 

"Well, what about him?" she asked in a shaky voice. 

"I don't think you should get involved with him," the man told her calmly. "It's bad enough that you ran away and went against your father...but to get involved with Leonheart..." 

"Why should anyone care?" Rinoa snapped. "It's none of their business." 

"It is their business. Rinoa, his father is Laguna Loire." The brunette's head looked up as large brown eyes suddenly clouded. 

"I...I don't care..." she whispered quietly. "I love him..." 

"He's just going to hurt you," the man stated. "You don't know anything about him." 

Rinoa's eyes squinted and she shook her head. "I don't want to hear it!" she shouted. "I've had enough! I'm going back to the ship." 

"Rinoa, wait-" the man began. Suddenly he met with the tip of a silver blade. 

"What business do you have to tell Rinoa what to do?" 

"Squall!" Rinoa gasped. "What are you...? Did you follow me?" she asked in disbelief. 

"Who are you!?" Squall hissed, staring at the man with icy blue eyes. 

Rinoa ran up between him and the man and stood in front of the man. "Squall, stop!" she gasped. "Don't hurt him!" 

"Rinoa..." he mumbled. Slowly he lowered the gun blade. 

"Squall, this is my cousin," she sighed. "He finds me and tells me what's going on in my family and tells me where I should stay and stay away from." 

Squall narrowed his eyes at the tall man in the red trench coat. The man merely raised an eyebrow and studied Squall. "Really, Rinoa...what do you see in him?" 

"Vincent!" Rinoa snapped. "Just leave! Squall will make sure I get back all right." 

Vincent glared at Squall as he walked past him. "If you hurt her," he warned. "I will make your life a living hell," he looked at Rinoa, who was frowning at his words. "You be careful." She nodded. 

Quietly, he side stepped Squall and passed them. "I'm sorry," Rinoa said weakly. "Vincent is like my older brother, he's just worried about me." 

"You seem to have a lot of people worried about you," Squall stated. He looked over at her. "Let's get back." 

She nodded and took his extended gloved hand. She was pulled into his arms and leaned against him. "Squall..." she whispered quietly. "You wouldn't hurt me...would you?" 

Squall took a deep breath as they walked. His arms tightened around her shoulders. "No," he stated quietly. "I'd never hurt you on purpose." 

Rinoa thought for a moment and nodded. 

* * *

Ellone looked through the mail and found a letter addressed to her and the family. From the handwriting, she assumed it had been Zell who wrote it, as Irvine wrote in block letters and Squall, amazingly enough, had perfect cursive. Smiling she wandered over to the sitting room and opened the envelope. 

Sitting down on the soft cushions of the couch, she took out the hand written letter that probably had been sent a few days ago. 

_Dear Ellone, _

It as been quite an adventure so far! Every night is like a little party with the crew. Seifer, you remember him, the guy who put that scar on Squall's face? Well, he's the COOK on the ship! His two friends are here with him and there are these three other girls. Quistis is the smart one. I think she and Seifer have a little thing going on. 

There is this really cool chick name Selphie. She's always hyper and smiling. I heard her saying that Irvine has a nice butt. Oh, and they won these two huge stuffed bears from one of those carnie games. They're currently in the lounge of the ship, since there was no where else to put them. You might be wondering what we're doing at a carnival. Actually, it's a boardwalk. 

We're docking here for a few days because supposedly, Irvine and I are getting 'sea sick'. We so do not! Oh, and the last girl is the ship's captain. I think she likes Squall. And the best part is, I think Squall likes her! I stole a picture from Squall's room the other night and it's included in this letter. It's him and the captain, Rinoa. 

Squall is doing okay. He's usually in his room doing research on the Thief's Treasure. He seems really serious about this. But the last few days, he's been off the ship. The day he took the picture he spent with Rinoa. He even won her one of those huge teddy bears. She named it after Laguna's cat, I think. 

Anyway, I'm kind of worried since he's engaged and all. I over heard her telling one of the other girls that Squall kissed her. Squall's never kissed a girl! I'm really worried, Ellone. Irvine doesn't really know what to do. I think he figures it'll all work out. But I don't want to see anyone hurt. Not Squall or Rinoa or Dr. Kadowaki's daughter. 

By the way, how is she? I haven't seen her since we graduated. Can you keep a secret, Ellone? I still kind of have a crush on her. Oh well, what can I do, right? Tell her hi for me if you see her. Irvine says hello. And so does Selphie. 

We'll see you soon! 

- Zell Dincht 

Ellone pulled out a small one and a half in square from the envelope. Squall was in the middle of talking and the girl he was with was laughing next to him. Even though it was just a picture, she could see the glint of joy in his eyes as he sat there next to the pretty young ship's captain. 

She grew slightly alarmed and stood up. She rushed out of the room and to her Uncle's study. She raced down the hall and knocked on the big wooden doors. "Uncle!" she called out. "Uncle, may I speak to you?" 

"Come on in, Ellone," Laguna's voice could be heard. Ellone walked in and paused at the door way. Laguna was balancing himself on a chair as he tried to coax Squally-poo from the top of a book shelf. "Don't mind us!" he said cheerfully. "Squally-poo just got stuck." 

"Merow!" the cat grumbled. Ward was trying to keep the chair steady as Kiros held the phone ready to call the ambulance just in case Laguna fell. 

"Uh...Uncle..." 

"Hold on..." Laguna said. "I've almost got him..." 

"MEROW!" Squally-poo swept a clawed paw at Laguna's face. The middle aged man yet out a yelp as he fell back wards. Ward managed to grab his shirt before he fell and held him up. 

"Okay...maybe he doesn't WANT to get down..." Laguna mumbled, eyeing the cat suspiciously. Kiros shook his head. 

"The cat will get down on his own," Kiros assured Laguna. He looked at Ellone. "What's up, kid?" 

"What do you make of this?" Ellone said. She handed them the little picture of Squall and Rinoa. 

Laguna's eyes went wide as Ward and Kiros looked at each other. "Doesn't that look like...?" Kiros began. 

Laguna looked like he saw a ghost as he fell back on one of the couches. He was completely pale as Kiros and Ward studied the picture further. Ellone tilted her head to the side. "Look like who?" 

"Ellone...who is the girl in the picture with Squall?" Kiros asked. 

"Zell said it's the captain of the ship they're on. Her name's Rinoa." 

"What's her last name?" Laguna asked suddenly. He turned to look at the girl. "Do you know?" 

Ellone shook her head. "It wasn't mentioned in the letter." 

"This is kind of strange..." Kiros mumbled. "Squall isn't usually...like this..." 

"Zell is worried that he's falling in love with Rinoa," Ellone told him nervously. "He's worried about complications." 

Kiros paused. "Don't let the family elders know about that," he began. "Else they'll drag him back her right away." 

"What's wrong with that?" Laguna asked quietly. 

"He'll hate us forever," Ellone sighed deeply. "I don't think he's doing this for the dowry, uncle. I think he just wanted to get away for a while." 

"I hate to admit it," Kiros mumbled as he looked at the picture. "But he seems pretty damn happy." 

Ellone nodded sadly. "That's what we're worried about..." 

Kiros handed the small picture to Laguna. The president looked over it. "Julia..." he whispered quietly as he looked over the picture lovingly. He smiled sadly. "She looks just like Julia..." 

* * *

She stood at the stern of the ship, her dark hair flowing behind her as the evening sea breeze swept past her. The stars sparkled in the sky. It was a crisp, clear evening. Not a single cloud lined the heavens as the small, sleek ship cut through the dark waters. 

Behind her, she could hear her friends laughing on the deck. Selphie had laid out a large blanket on the main deck and they were all laying on it, looking up at the stars. The ship was on an automated driver, as the night was good for that. Raijin was making a joke and as it was rather crude, later let out a yelp as Fujin kicked him. 

Quistis was resting her head on Seifer's defined stomach as the he laid on a pillow. Selphie, Zell, and Irvine all hand their heads together as they laid out in a little circle and were pointing up at the sky. Their heads were resting on Selphie's big yellow chocobo shaped pillow. Irvine's hat was on his chest. Even Angelo was sitting there. 

Everything was so peaceful. She didn't want the night to ever end. Behind her, she heard footsteps and the sound of familiar belts sounding. She grinned even wider as arms wrapped around her slim shoulders. A kissed was placed on her cheek as a heavy head leaned against hers. 

"You are you feeling?" Squall asked. 

Rinoa shivered. His breath was right in her ear. "I'm fine," she assured him. She leaned back against his arms. "Squall...what are you going to do after you find the Thief's Treasure?" 

Squall looked at the depths of the ocean as he held her in his arms. The soft beating of her heart could be felt against his chest as the scent of her hair invaded his senses. The last several days, he had spent trying to decide what he was going to do. He already decided to try and find the treasure. But what really haunted him was the issue of his arranged marriage. 

He closed his eyes and held her tightly. "I'm going to give it to my family," he whispered. "And...and I will go through with my duties." 

Rinoa's eyes went wide. "What...?" she whispered. 

Squall turned her around slowly and looked into her eyes. "Rinoa...I have to tell you something..." he whispered quietly. She tilted her head, looking confused. "I...I have an arranged marriage back in Esthar." 

She pulled away and Squall had a pained look on his face. "Why...?" she whispered. "You're getting married...and you still..." She narrowed her eyes and shook her head. "I can't believe you..." 

"Rinoa, you don't understand-" 

She shook her head and took another step back. "So you lied to me..." she murmured. "All that stuff about you loving me...it's all a lie!?" 

"No!" he gasped. He took a step forward to take her hand and try to explain. 

Rinoa was on the verge of tears as she raised her hand and slapped Squall across the face. "How could you!?" she screamed. "You're getting married and you lead me on!? Acting like you really cared!" 

At the sound of her yelling, the people on the deck looked up, concerned. They saw Rinoa's arms waving in the air and yelling as Squall tried to reach out to her and was pushed away each time he tried. 

"Rinoa, please, let me explain!" 

"What is there to explain!?" she sobbed. "You said you LOVED me! You said you'd never hurt me! And then you tell me you have a fiancée!? What kind of shit is that!?" 

"I didn't mean to hurt you-" 

"Well you did!" Rinoa sobbed. She wiped her eyes bitterly and turned around. "At our next stop, we'll part ways." 

Squall's eyes went wide. "What?" he gasped. 

"You'll get back your money, don't worry," she hissed. "You'd only be one more boat ride to the Island Closest to Hell, so at least you would've gotten that far." 

"Rinoa-" he put his hand on her shoulder and she whirled around and threw him several feet across the upper level. He fell back and looked up, completely shocked. 

Rinoa was pulsating with sorceress powers. "They were all right...you'd just end up hurting me..." she whispered quietly. 

"Rinoa!" he called out desperately. She shook her head and ran down the steps to the main deck. Her friends called out to her, but she ran past them and straight into her room. The door slammed and they all turned to look at Squall. 

Seifer raised an eyebrow. "You told her?" 

"Told her what?" Selphie asked curiously. 

"Puberty boy has an arranged marriage." 


	5. Caught

**Thief's Treasure**  
_Chapter Five: Caught_  
By PasifiKStaR

Author's Note: I know, I know...where was I? I usually update at least every other day or so, right? Midterms, club meetings, projects, and work have been occupying me this week. Maybe this weekend I'll get some stories done! This story is only a few chapters. Maybe nine? 

*All Standard Disclaimers Apply - I do not own Final Fantasy or it's characters. 

* * *

"He has a WHAT!?" Selphie gasped. She sat up straight and looked from Seifer and Squall. "You're joking, right!?...Irvine!? Zell!?" She looked over at the cowboy and the tattooed blond, only to watch as their heads turned away. 

"So he has a fiancée..." Quistis whispered. 

"What's going on!?" Selphie asked, looking around wildly. 

Irvine finally turned to look at her. "Selphie...Squall has an arranged marriage to the daughter of a wealthy family..." he mumbled. "Squall's father is Laguna Loire." 

Quistis and Selphie both looked at him in shock. "No..." Quistis shook her head. "That can't be..." 

"Oh Hyne..." Selphie said, running her hand down her face as a melancholy frown graced her usually cheerful face. 

Quistis closed her eyes tightly. "He has an arranged marriage in order for his family go gain allies..." Quistis concluded. "Why didn't we see this coming...?" She shook her head. "We should've known...why else would a son of a wealthy family go on a trip to find a legendary treasure," she looked at Irvine and Zell who were looking away guiltfully. "He's going to use it as a dowry, isn't he?" 

They nodded. "Squall's never met her before," Zell told them quietly. "It's purely a political marriage." 

"That doesn't take away from the fact that he has a fiancée while he was seeing Rinoa!" Selphie piped. "Oh, Hyne! I'm going to go check on her!" Jumping up, the petite brunette rushed to the other girl's room. 

Seifer was shaking his head as Quistis was sitting up. She turned and glared at him. "Why didn't you tell her!?" 

"Both you and I know that she wouldn't have taken my word for it," Seifer reminded Quistis. "She had to hear it from Squall himself." 

Quistis bit her lower lip. Seifer had a point. Rinoa would've never believed it had it come from one of them. Squall turned his back to the group and ran his hand through his hair as he leaned over the railing. He closed his eyes tightly. *Rinoa...I'm so sorry...* 

* * *

Rinoa was curled in the fetal position against Squally-poo. The sun was rising outside her window as she stared at the foot of her bed. She had been in that position all night. The cold wind blew through her open window, carrying in the salt air and the sounds of the gulls as they hovered above. 

The ship had stopped moving forward about an hour ago. As it bobbed up and down on the sea, she could hear the sounds of the docks outside. She had heard Seifer get off the boat to deal with docking fees earlier as well. 

"We should tell her..." Selphie insisted quietly outside her door. 

"She might be sleeping. Just let her rest." Quistis countered softly. Rinoa heard Selphie let out a heavy sigh. 

"It's all right," Squall's voice reached her ears and her eyes closed tightly. "Just tell her when she wakes." 

"I wish it didn't have to end up like this..." Selphie said with a sniffle. "I thought we were having so much fun, too." 

"We were having fun, Selphie," Irvine assured her. "Hey...if you're ever in Esthar again...look us up?" 

"Thanks for a great trip, though," Zell smiled weakly. "Take care of...?" 

"Yes," Quistis nodded. "Of course. Squall, here's the money-" 

"Keep it," Squall stated firmly. "I don't need it." 

"But what about the rest of the trip?" Zell asked. "Can you afford that?" 

"I'll be fine," Squall spat out. "Good-bye, Quistis. Selphie." 

Three sets of footsteps were heard walking away and Rinoa closed her eyes. It was really happening. He was leaving. *Like he wasn't going to leave anyway...he has someone else.* her mind told her. Rinoa took a deep breath and noticed how she was shaking. 

Her pillows were damp with tears and now, she found herself unable to shed any more. She could feel him moving farther and farther away. 

Squall turned around and looked back at the ship hesitantly. "Having second thoughts?" Irvine said. 

"No," Squall stated as he turned back around and walked back towards them. "Let's go." 

Zell looked from Squall to the ship and bit his lower lip. Reluctantly, he turned around and ran after Squall and Irvine. 

Selphie stood by the edge of the ship and watched the three fleeting figures disappear into the busy port town. Her green eyes closed slowly as she knelt down and leaned against the side of the ship. 

Quistis leaned back against the kitchen counter with her glasses off as she rubbed the bridge of her nose. Strong arms wrapped around her waist and she leaned forward to rest her head against a strong chest. "I really thought he was the one..." Quistis whispered quietly. "I thought that she would get better..." 

Seifer's arms rose and wrapped around her body tighter. "I know," he whispered quietly. "No wonder you girls ran away," Seifer mumbled as he pressed his head against hers gently. "You would've been in the same position as him." 

"Privilege always comes with a price," Quistis mumbled. "Was I wrong in thinking he could help her?" 

She tilted her head to look up at him. Her blue eyes seemed to be searching for assurance that she wasn't wrong. That she was right in placing her trust in Squall to heal her friend. Seifer didn't know what to say. He merely nodded. "No," Seifer whispered as he tightened his hold around her. "No, Quisty, you were right." 

* * *

The door creaked open slowly and she looked inside. Her pale hand ran against the side of the wall, searching for a switch. She turned on the lights and looked around the now vacant room. 

Pale sheets were neatly laid out on the bed as two pillows rested at the head of it. Looking behind her to make sure no one was watching, Rinoa stepped into the room and closed the door behind her. She walked towards the bottom bunk and sat on the bed. 

Her hands ran along the worn sheets as she laid down and placed her head on the soft white pillows. She closed her eyes and buried her head in the soft material as his scent flooded her senses. For just a few seconds, it was like he was actually there. 

*You've hit rock bottom, Rin...* her mind scolded her. Sighing heavily, she sat up and shook her head. *I need to get off this boat...* Standing up quickly, she walked out of the spare cabin and headed upstairs. 

She looked at the clock in the narrow hall way. It was just after sunset. She sighed. Suddenly, Seifer's door opened and she ran into someone. "Oh! Rinoa!" a nervous sounding voice gasped. "Uh...what are you doing here?" 

Rinoa didn't bat an eye as Quistis looked at her, flushed and looking slightly undone. "I'm going to take a walk on the docks." 

"The docks?" Quistis gasped, immediately forgetting about her current state or the way her hair tumbled over her face. "Why? It's late and cold..." 

"And dangerous, yes I know," Rinoa sighed. "I'll bring Angelo. I'll be back in a bit. I just need to walk around a bit." 

"You're not going to run after puberty boy are you?" a deeper voice asked inside the room. 

Quistis turned bright red as Seifer leaned against the door way, directly behind her. He ran his hand through his blond hair as his muscles were proudly bared on his body as he stood there without a shirt on. He frowned as he looked at Rinoa. 

"I'm not going to run after him," she snapped aggregated. "I'm just going out to think." 

"Let me come with you-" Quistis began, but Rinoa was already walking past them. 

"I'll be fine," she shouted. "You two are probably busy anyway..." she mumbled under her breath. 

Quistis gulped as Seifer snickered behind her. "I told you were being too loud." he grinned. 

Quistis pushed the door in his face and ran up the steps after Rinoa. "Shut up, Seifer!" 

Upstairs, Rinoa had called Angelo and told Raijin to tell Selphie and Fujin that she had gone for the walk. The other two girls had previously left to go get ice cream for Selphie's addiction. He merely nodded and said he would as she walked down the plank to the pier with Angelo at her heels. 

Quistis reached the deck and looked around. "She already left, ya know!" Raijin said as he leaned over the railing at the top deck. 

"Dammit...did she say when she was going to come back?" Quistis shouted. Raijin shook her head. Quistis sighed. *Hyne...please be careful...* 

* * *

Squall placed some gil on the table. "If you find anyone..." he told the bar tender. The bar tender nodded and took the money as Squall walked back to the table where Zell and Irvine were sitting and waiting for him. 

"Anything?" Zell asked. Squall shook his head. 

"We'll have to wait and see." Squall mumbled. 

"It'll be even harder to get a ship here," Irvine said as he looked around. He lifted up a heavy glass mug and took a drink from it. "Have you seen all the Galbadian soldiers walking around?" 

"Galbadian soldiers?" Zell said. He shook his head. "What would they be doing here? There isn't a war or anything." 

"Exactly," Irvine agreed. "It's strange. Why would soldiers be wandering around a place like this. There isn't a base anywhere near here and it's not war time. So they technically don't have a reason to be here." 

"I highly doubt it's for a vacation." Zell said. 

"Soldiers don't vacation wearing combat boots," Irvine mumbled. He put his mug down as he finished off it's contents. "I'm going to go check around." 

"We'll wait here for you then," Zell told him. Irvine nodded and stood up. Zell followed him with his eyes and watched as he approached some people casually. "What do you think, Squall?" 

Squall wasn't paying attention. He merely stared out into a space, a concentrated look on his face as his hand gripped the handle of the mug tightly. *I hope she'll be all right.* 

"Squall?" Zell called out. "Yo? Squall...? Squall!" 

"What!?" Squall snapped, turning his head around and shooting Zell a glare. 

Zell jerked his head back. "You okay? You zoned out." 

"What are you talking about?" the brunette mumbled bitterly. 

"What's wrong, man?" Zell asked, concerned. "I asked you what you thought." 

"Thought about WHAT?" Squall grumbled. 

"All the soldiers around," Zell said. "Weren't you listening?" 

*Obviously NO,* the young man thought to himself as he lifted his drink to his lips. He swallowed a good portion of the contents before putting the mug back down. "They're searching for someone." 

"Who?" Zell asked. "Do you know?" 

"Why ELSE would they be wandering around a city not affiliated with Galbadia?" Squall snapped. *They're searching for Rinoa! Her father must've sent them like her cousin mentioned...* 

"Well, yeah, that makes sense..." he mumbled. "But WHO are they searching for?" 

"I don't care," Squall grumbled. *Because she never wants to see me again away, so why the hell should give a damn about her?* his mind added. *Maybe the fact that you LOVE her is the reason.* 

Before long, Irvine returned to their table and quickly took his seat. He raised his hand to get the attention of a waitress and asked for more drinks. "Apparently, they're searching for someone." 

"Squall already said that," Zell said. "He said why else would they be here." 

"Yeah," Irvine nodded. "But supposedly they're looking for a famous general's estranged daughter." 

"I didn't think that they would be sent out for that sort of reason," Zell mumbled with large eyes. Irvine nodded in agreement. "Did they say who?" 

Irvine nodded once more. "General Caraway's daughter," Irvine said. Squall's hand tightened around the mug as his eyes grew colder. "Supposedly, she killed a man and ran away." 

Zell's eyes went wide. "So she's on the run?" 

"I guess so." Irvine shrugged. The waitress put a mug of beer in front of Irvine and he winked at her as she passed by. 

"Think she's dangerous?" 

"No idea," Irvine said. "No one here knows how she looks like and the soldiers won't say. It's supposed to be a very hush hush operation." 

"She's probably dangerous then," Zell concluded. "But it is kind of strange. Why would they send so many men to get one girl? That's got to mean that she's really dangerous." 

"Still," Irvine sighed. "Hate to see a poor girl hunted down like this. The port's crawling with soldiers." 

*I should go warn her...* Squall thought to himself. 

"If she is here, she probably wouldn't have a chance with all these soldiers here." 

Squall's eyes narrowed. *One step outside the ship and she'll be arrested...* 

"Whoever she is, she's bound to run into at least a few soldiers." 

*I'm going to go!* Squall suddenly stood up and Irvine and Zell looked up at him. 

"Squall?" Zell asked. 

"Where are you going?" Irvine added. 

"I'll see you later." Squall mumbled. 

"Do you want us to meet you somewhere?" Zell asked as Squall put some money on the table and pushed his chair back under the table. 

"I'll find you." Squall assured them. He moved past the people in the bar and headed out the door. Irvine let out a whistle and looked at his watch. 

"Damn, he really held out this time..." Irvine said. He reached into his jacket and took out his wallet. He took out some gil and handed it to Zell. "You win." 

"Yes! I told you!" Zell grinned as he took the money and counted it. "What's the official time?" 

"Let's see..." Irvine looked at his watch. "We left the boat around seven in the morning... it's now six something...therefore it took less than twelve hours for him to turn tail and go back to Rinoa." 

"Told you." 

"Yeah yeah..." 

* * *

Rinoa slowly walked along the pier quietly, lost deep in thought. Angelo walked at her side, wary of their surroundings as his owner stared straight ahead. She had been gone for about an hour. 

This particular port city was a smaller version of the one where they had picked up Zell, Irvine, and Squall. It was lined with numerous bars, whore houses, as well as gambling halls, inns, and repair stores. Further away from the docks was a nice area with a few shops and restaurants. 

After quite some time of walking, she had finally reached that area. It's streets were lined with lamps as few people walked through it. For the first few minutes, she had just concentrated on getting as far away from the ship as possible. But as soon as she lost sight of the _Siren_, her thoughts wandered right back to him. 

She couldn't help but wonder what he was doing or where he was. She shook her head and tried to clear her thoughts. *I have to get my mind off of this subject...* She quickened her step and heard steps behind her quicken as well. 

Rather than pause, she glanced to her side at one of the windows of a store front. Her eyes went wide as she saw two Galbadian soldiers walking right behind her. Her heart began to beat faster and she sped up. 

As expected, the soldiers also sped up. One of them lifted up a walkie talkie and spoke into it. Rinoa's mind raced. She knew they were calling for back up. She knew they were following her. She KNEW they were AFTER HER. 

Quickly, she turned into a more crowded area on a wharf where small shops were opened and tourists were still visible and wandering around. Angelo was still at her heels as she cut in and out of the groups of people. 

Angelo began to bark and Rinoa knew they had stepped their chase up a notch. Their foot steps were now louder and faster. She broke into a wild run down the pier. 

"Hey! Watch it!" someone yelled as she shoved past them. 

"Sorry!" she shouted over her shoulder as she ran. 

"Hey! What's the big deal!" 

"Watch where you're going, bastards!" someone else shouted behind her. The soldiers carelessly shoved aside by standers as they ran after Rinoa. 

Her heart was pounding in her chest as the people around her turned into mere blurs. A gun shot was heard and the crowds screamed and cleared the way as Rinoa mentally swore. Panic ensued around her as people ran in all directions. The wharf began to shake with the pounding of people running. 

She looked behind her. The soldiers were so close. *No...* her mind screamed. *No! I don't want to go back!!* 

"Cut her off!" someone shouted behind her. 

"Angelo!" Rinoa shouted. She pointed to the edge of the wharf. "Go!" The dog whimpered and Rinoa looked at him as she ran. "Go!!" she ordered tearfully. She was going to be caught. 

Angelo barked and ran past Rinoa. He jumped off the edge of the wharf and into the water with a splash. Rinoa slammed into the railing as she looked down to make sure the dog was okay. 

"Hold it right here!" a voice yelled behind her. 

Angelo's head popped out of the water and he looked up and barked. "Get the others!" Rinoa cried out. The dog barked and began to swim off towards the other side of the docks. 

All around her, Rinoa heard the clicks of guns. Closing her eyes, she turned around slowly and was faced with dozens of guns pointed at her. "Rinoa Heartilly Caraway!" one of the soldiers said. "Come with us!" 

* * *

Squall stood at the start of the pier. He stared at the lit ship that was docked a little bit down from him. The cold ocean air blew in and ruffled the soft brown bangs over his face as he stared at the ship. *How long are you going to stand here and just STARE at it?* his mind screamed. 

He let out a heavy sigh. He didn't know how long he had been there, all he knew was that he was finding that he couldn't get himself to move and head towards, let alone board, the ship. He tilted his head back and let out a deep breath. 

Squall turned as he heard something running behind him. His eyes went large as he saw the soaking dog running up the pier. *That's Angelo!* his mind yelled. 

Angelo skidded to a stop as he turned and looked up a Squall. Whimpering, he turned his head towards the ship and seemed to beckon Squall to follow him. He even went so far as to grab a hold of the man's leg and tug on it. 

"Angelo, let go!" Squall snapped. 

Letting out a frustrated growl, the dog turned and ran down the rest the dock to the ship. He barked enthusiastically as he ran up the plank. Squall hesitantly made his way forward. He shook his head. *No...forget it...* Turning around, he headed back to the bar. Irvine and Zell were waiting for him. 

* * *

"Angelo!?" Selphie's voice called. On the ship, Selphie and the others congregated on the deck as the dog arrived. "Why are you wet?" 

"He can't talk," Seifer said as he rolled his eyes. "What's the point in asking?" 

"Wait," Quistis said in a nervous voice. "Where's Rinoa?" 

At that, Angelo let out a bark and then whimpered. Selphie looked up at Quistis with a worried expression on her face. "You don't think that...?" 

"Galbadian soldiers." Fujin suddenly said. She had Selphie had seen many of them as they went to get ice cream. 

"That's right!" Selphie gasped. "The docks were littered with Galbadian soldiers!" 

"WHAT!?" Quistis gasped. "Why didn't you tell us sooner!?" 

"I didn't even think about it until we got here!" Selphie exclaimed. "Oh, Hyne! They're after her, aren't they?" 

"Why else would they been here?" Quistis shouted. "We're in the freaking boonies of the sea faring world! WHY would Galbadia's soldiers be here?! Especially when there is no war!" 

"We have to go find her," Seifer mumbled. "Shit, they could've gotten her by now. Fujin, how many did you see?" 

"Too many." Fujin commented. Quistis swore. 

"We have to find her," Quistis said. She looked at Raijin and Fujin. "You two stay here and make sure the ship is ready to leave at a moment's notice. Selphie, Seifer, go get ready to go!" 

"Angelo?" Fujin asked. Quistis looked at the dog. She nodded. 

"We'll bring Angelo with us. He might be able to sniff her out," Quistis said. "Keep the radios on so we can contact you!" She ran to the lower decks after Selphie and Seifer. 

She threw her door open and practically ripped off her closet door as she grabbed two whips. She tied one around her waist and the other coiled around her arm. "Ready?" Seifer said as he and Selphie stood at her door with a gun blade and nunchuku. 

Quistis removed her glasses and gripped her whip. "Let's go!" 

* * *

Squall laid in bed, staring up at the wooden ceiling as Zell happily snored in the bed across from him. His mind was lost in thought as his arms cradled his head. They were in a rusty old inn in the far side of the docks. 

Outside, through the open window, he could hear the sounds of the fog horn in the distance as the occasional beam of the distant light house hit the walls of the room. His jacket was hung on one of the bed posts, as he laid there. 

Every time he closed his eyes, all he saw was Rinoa. Her bright smile, her soft brown eyes, her layered dark tresses. He took a deep breath as his lids closed. *No,* he told himself. *You shouldn't be sorry that you told her. She had a RIGHT to know.* 

He had stood at the docks for hours, staring at the ship, wondering what she was doing. If she was missing him as much as he missed her. Her soft lips were always welcoming, filling him with warmth. Squall thought about the first time he saw her. His heart at stopped as he rose from the side of the boat, smiling kindly as water slid down her perfect body. 

He admitted it. He missed her. *Hyne...if I could just see her one last time... and just make sure she's all right...* 

"Squall!" The door was suddenly thrown open and Squall sat straight up. Irvine looked around the room as he ran in. "Squall-" 

"What?" Squall hissed, annoyed. Zell still sleep peacefully in his bed. 

"I just saw Selphie," Irvine gasped out. Worry was written over his usually relaxed face. "It's about Rinoa!" 

Squall's eyes narrowed. "What about her?" 

"The Galbadian soldiers," Irvine gasped. "They're after her for some reason and caught her!" 

Squall's eyes went large. Within a second, he was off his bed, grabbing his gun blade, and out the door. *Shit, they got her...* 

Irvine looked back at Zell. He was on his stomach, arms sprawled out around his body. "Zell!" Irvine yelled. "Zell!!" Without hesitation, Irvine gripped the thin blanket that covered Zell's body and tore it off of the sleeping figure. 

"Wha!?" Zell looked up, still half asleep. He looked completely lost as Irvine let out a heavy sigh. "What's going on!?" 

"Rinoa's been kidnapped!" 

Downstairs, Squall emerged from the inn, throwing the door open as he came out. The first thing he saw was the petite young woman standing by a lamp post looking worried as a medium sized dog began to bark. 

The young woman looked up with emerald green eyes. "Squall!" A look of relief went through her face. "Squall, you have to help us-" 

"Where is she!?" Squall asked immediately. 

Selphie looked like she was on the verge of tears. "I don't know!" the young woman replied. "I thought Angelo could sniff out his master but he hasn't budged since Irvine ran into the inn!" 

"Angelo," Squall mumbled. He looked down at the dog. *Angelo had grabbed my pants earlier...* The realization struck him. "He was trying to tell me Rinoa was kidnapped..." 

"What?" Selphie asked, confused. Squall shook his head and knelt down in front of the dog. 

"Angelo, WHERE is Rinoa?" Squall asked. "Take me to Rinoa." 

The dog barked and took off down the street. Selphie let out a gasp as she watched the dog turn and bark enthusiastically, trying to get them to follow him. "He knows!" Selphie gasped. She tore down after him with Squall right behind her. 

"Hey!" Irvine shouted as he watched them running to his left. "Aww...shit... come on, Zell!" 

Zell nodded and ran after them. "Why did they take her!?" Zell yelled to Irvine. 

The cowboy shrugged. "I don't know!" Irvine replied without looking back. "Selphie just started crying and saying that she's been taken!" 

"Rinoa's not a convict is she!?" Zell gasped. Irvine rolled his eyes. 

They had reached Selphie and Squall and Selphie shook her head from side to side as she ran. "No!" Selphie shouted. "She's even worse! She was born a Caraway!" 

"Caraway!?" Irvine and Zell chorused in surprised. 

"Caraway, the military family!?" Zell asked in shock. "They have close ties to Heartilly!" 

"Why is a Caraway captaining a ship!?" Irvine asked as they ran. 

Selphie bit her lip and mentally debated whether or not to tell them. She looked over shoulder at the other two men. They had come to help them, no questions asked. They deserved to know. Rinoa, she figured, would forgive her if she told. 

"Rinoa ran away when she was sixteen!" Selphie shouted. "Quistis and I came with her!" 

"How do you guys know Rinoa!?" Zell asked. "You never told us how you three met!" 

"Same boarding school!" Selphie said. "Quistis is Quistis Trepe, only child to the Trepe Technologies CEO!" 

"Holy...!!! Are you kidding me!?" Zell gasped. 

"I kind of saw that one coming!" Irvine shouted. "Look at Quistis! She has blue blood written all over her!" 

"What about you, Selphie?" Zell asked. 

"My full name is Selphie Tilmitt-" 

"Tilmitt the toy giant!?" Irvine gasped. "Since WHEN!?" 

"Since I was born!" Selphie giggled slightly. She shook her head. "The Trepes and Tilmitt fortunes are nothing compared to the Caraway family! The three of us were always together and when Rinoa ran away, so did we!" 

"Why did she run away?" Zell asked. 

Selphie once again sank into a mental debate on whether or not to tell them the reason. "Arranged marriage!" Squall shouted. "She ran away from an arranged marriage!" Selphie looked at him with wonder. Rinoa told him...meaning he probably also knew about... 

"Yeah!" Selphie shouted. "She was supposed to marry some old rich guy but she couldn't do it and ran away. She hated his guts!" 

"So are they coming to get her to drag her back and be married!?" Zell shouted. 

"I don't know!" Selphie admitted. "Her father practically disowned her!" 

Squall's eyes went wide as he kept them on the dog running in front of them. "They are coming to get her to be married," Squall said. His eyes narrowed has Selphie ran closer to him to listen. "They found someone else to marry her!" 

"What!?" Selphie gasped. 

"Hold on, Angelo's slowing down!" Squall stated. The dog in front of them had slowed to a merely walk, as if he were being walked by the people following him. 

Just by looking around they realized why. The area was suddenly crawling with Galbadian soldiers. They casually walked around the area. "She has to be near..." Selphie concluded. They looked at the dog, who had sat down and was staring at a the first of a series of five large ship warehouses that were over the water. "There..." 

"A ship warehouse?" Irvine said. He shook his head. "How the hell are we going to get in there without being detected?" 

"There's bound to be a whole army of soldiers inside." Zell agreed. 

"I'll go through a whole army and more to save her..." Squall found himself whispering. 

"What'd you say, Squall?" Irvine asked, having not heard from the sounds of people talking all around them. 

"Nothing," Squall mumbled. Selphie looked over at him and smiled slightly. She had heard him. "We need a way in..." 

Angelo suddenly perked up and turned to his left. With a quiet bark, he headed towards an alley way with the others following behind him. "Now where's the mutt taking us?" Irvine sighed. 

"Good boy, Angelo!" a voice was saying as they were inside the alley between two store houses. "Now you know where your mommy is...you're a smart dog, aren't you? Yes, a very smart dog..." 

"What the...?" Zell narrowed his eyes. "SEIFER!?" 

Immediately the tall blond man stood straight up and looked a bit flustered as he was caught praising the dog. Zell and Irvine snickered as Quistis looked up from where she was sitting, scratching right behind Angelo's ear. "Oh, thank, Hyne, Selphie. You found them!" 

"Rin's in that building," Selphie said, pointing out towards the first of the warehouses. "We need to get in. How did you guys find it?" 

"We didn't find it exactly," Quistis replied. "We just went to the area where there were the most soldiers." 

"I see...do you know how we can get in?" Selphie asked. 

"We've been here for a while," Seifer said. "There should be a water system that leads up to the warehouse," he mumbled as he pointed to a man hole. "But that's from the glory days of this particular dock, so they shouldn't be working anyway." 

"That means it should be perfectly safe for us to go through," Quistis mumbled. "The big issue will be escaping. I wouldn't be surprised if Rinoa was under close surveillance." 

"We'll definitely attract attention leaving..." Zell mumbled. 

"We need a distraction," Seifer mumbled. He smirked as he looked at Zell in an almost predatory gaze. "Congratulations, chicken-wuss! You're going to distract them." 

"Me!?" Zell nearly screamed. "Why me!?" No one seemed to give him a valid answer. 

"Quisty, can you contact Fujin and Raijin and tell us to meet them close by?" Selphie asked casually. "That way we can get on the ship as soon as possible and go." 

"Good idea," Quistis nodded. "Once we're out at sea, they won't be able to catch us." 

"So it's agreed then?" Irvine asked. "We get in, fight off a few guards, get Rinoa out, Zell makes a distraction, we get her on the boat and that's it?" 

"Basically." Selphie nodded. 

"All right then," Irvine said. "Seifer, open the man hole!" 

Seifer narrowed his green eyes. "Why the hell should I listen to you-" 

"Seifer, baby, just lift the damn man hole cover!" Quistis snapped. "Stop arguing and do it!" 

Seifer merely smirked. "I love it when you talk like that-" 

"Seifer!" 

He rolled his eyes and walked over to the man hole on the ground and began to loosen it. Quistis was holding a walkie-talking as Zell kept a look out. "Look at all those soldiers..." 

"Fujin, it's me," Quistis said. "We need the _Siren_ here...I'm sending you our location now." 

"Affirmative," Fujin stated after a while. "Location received." 

"We'll contact you as soon as we're ready to go." Quistis said. 

"Understood." The walkie talkie went out and Seifer had managed to move then man hole cover around. 

He looked at the group. "Whose first?" 

* * *

Just like Zell had assumed, the entire warehouse was crawling with Galbadian soldiers walking around with machine guns in their hands. They mentally swore as they looked around. It seemed like a huge docking bay with an area build specifically for holding a ship and loading it. 

Above them, walking on metal bridges across the warehouse's expanse, were even more soldiers. In the corner of the room, next to several rows of large wooden crates, was an office. Through the glass windows, several soldiers could be seen, walking with guns in their hands. 

Squall's blue eyes peered from behind the bars of the drain on one side of warehouse. They were chest deep in ocean water and Selphie, who was shortest of them had to be carried on Irvine's back. 

"She's in the office room," Squall mumbled as his hand tightened around the gun blade. "I can see her unconscious on a chair." 

"They probably sedated her," Seifer mumbled. "To avoid her using her magic." 

"Caraway will probably send a ship here soon to get her," Quistis mumbled. "Damn, they've had her here for at least a few hours all ready...a ship could come in at any minute." 

"We have to get over to her," Selphie agreed. "But how? There are guards everywhere!" 

"Irvine," Squall said. "There's a power box over there," Squall said as he pointed to a small metal box next on the wall across from them. "It'll cut the power. It's still night, so there shouldn't be any light source." 

"What about a back up generator?" Zell asked. 

"It'll still take some time to get it up," Squall said. "Selphie, Zell, you two come with me." 

"We'll cover your back." Quistis said. She looked at Seifer, who nodded. 

Squall began to loosen the bars that lead to the ware house. "Once you get through, make sure you're under water," Squall said. He looked at Irvine. "Shoot it once we're all under water, got it?" 

Irvine nodded as Selphie let go of him and floated in the water. "Good luck." 

"Careful, man," Zell said. "They'll beef up the security as soon as the lights go out." 

Squall nodded and moved the plate of bars that held them out off the opening. Irvine lifted up his gun, that had been kept dry by being held over his head, and aimed. 

* * *

Rinoa could see the lights go out through her eye lids. Her entire body couldn't move from the injection they had given her. She couldn't even open her eyes, let alone talk. 

But she could hear the panic ensue all around her. *It has to be them!* her mind screamed joyfully as she listened to the people in the room with her order each other to keep an eye out. *Yeah, like they can really see in the dark...* 

There was the sound of a door bursting open and grunting. "Grab her!" 

*Selphie!* Rinoa's mind registered as she heard her friend's voice shout. 

"We'll clear a path!" another voice shouted. 

*Zell!?* Rinoa gasped. She felt arms go underneath her body and lift her up. *Then the one carrying me...* She felt familiar arms hold her against a warm body as his scent wafted into her senses. "Squa..." 

"Get the doors opens!" the voice that yelled solidified her thoughts as she let out a breath of relief. 

In the background, she heard gun shots as he carried her out of their. "Cure!" Selphie shouted. 

A wave of energy flowed through Rinoa's body, pushing out some of the poison that had prevented her from acting earlier. Slowly, her eyes opened into small slits. She could feel his leather jacket brush against her cheeks as she looked up at him. 

She could barely make out his features in the darkness. "Get her to the pier!" another voice shouted as a whipped crack. "Oh, no you don't!" 

*Quistis...* 

"Shit, the lights are coming back on!" Seifer's voice sounded. One by one, every other light that was hanging from the ceiling began to flicker on. 

"Get the door!" Squall said. A gun shot rang out, and the door's knob flew off. 

Rinoa could feel his heart beating quickly has his hold tightened around her. They were still running and she closed her eyes. 

Through the haze of gun shots and yelling and alarms, she felt the rush of cool sea wind brush against her as they made it out side. "Oh, crap!" Zell shouted. 

"They're so many of them!" Selphie gasped. 

"The ships coming!" Quistis shouted. 

"We have to get her over there!" Seifer yelled. 

Rinoa turned her head tiredly. "Rinoa..." she heard a voice whisper above her. Rinoa swallowed hard as she opened her eyes and saw the rows and rows of Galbadian soldiers waiting them. 

In the distance, at the edge of the pier, was the _Siren_. She could vaguely make out the shape of her beloved dog as he jumped up and down and barked from the edge of the pier. Seifer, Quistis, Selphie, and Zell were at the front line as Irvine stood by Squall and was shooting his gun. 

Squall himself couldn't do anything as he held her tightly in his arms. *I have to help them...* her mind said. *I NEED to...* She willed her arm to rise. *Damn!!!* It didn't budge. *Forget it! I don't need my arm!* She looked out at the sea of people in front of them. She let her arm drop to her side and began to summon a fire spell. 

A glowing ball of red-yellow light appeared in her hand and with all her strength, she rolled the ball into the crowd. As soon as it slipped through the feet of several rows of soldiers, it exploded into flames, sending the soldiers flying. 

"Rinoa!?" Quistis gasped. 

"Now's our chance!" Seifer yelled. 

They began to run once more as Rinoa summoned yet another fire spell to make way for them again. She rolled it out ahead of them and watched as it blew up. "We're almost there!" Selphie yelled happily as they saw Raijin dropping the plank down. 

"Get ready to speed out of here!" Quistis was shouting to Fujin, who was driving the ship. 

"Take her!" Squall said. 

Rinoa's eyes went wide as she was passed from Squall to Seifer. The blond man said nothing as he took Rinoa from Squall's arms. He looked at once more and caressed her face with his gloved hand as a pained look went over his face. 

"Squall..." she whispered breathy. 

"Seifer, let's go!" Quistis screamed as she was half way up the plank. Selphie was already on board. 

"We'll hold them off!" Irvine shouted. He waved for them to go. 

"Irvy, we can make it, come on!" 

"Just go!" Squall shouted. "She's more important!" 

Rinoa watched with horror as Seifer ordered Raijin to loose the plank and Fujin to turn the boat and go. The wooden plank fell into the water with a heavy splash as the sound of the ship's motor echoed in her ears. The ship began to pull away from the pier, faster and faster. 

Left on the pier, fighting off the remainder of the guards were Zell, Irvine, and Squall. He turned around once more and blue eyes met brown ones. One look was worth a thousand words as the ship roared off. 

Rinoa was crying as Seifer gently put her down. She stumbled to the side of the ship and looked back at them as they disappeared. Her lips trembled as her hands clung on to the cold railing. "I love you, too..." 

Selphie covered her mouth as Quistis turned her head away and buried it against Seifer's chest. The warehouse exploded. 


	6. The First Island Secret

**Thief's Treasure**  
_Chapter Six: The First Island Secret_  
By PasifiKStaR

*All Standard Disclaimers Apply - I do not own Final Fantasy or it's characters. 

* * *

"Ten thousand gil just to take us off the coast of the Island Closest to Hell," Irvine said as he they placed the money on the table in front of the blond man. "You don't even have to get off your boat or even get on the actual island itself... You can't say that's a bad deal." 

The blond man let out a heavy breath as he looked down at the wad of gil in front of him. "You're right...I can't say that's a bad deal." 

"It's more than enough to cover expenses," Squall added. Foreboding blue eyes held the captain of a ship in a steady gaze. "All you have to do is bring us there and back." 

"What's your reason?" the captain asked. 

Irvine smirked. "I don't think that's any of your business-" he began, but Squall held out his hand to silence him. 

"We're scuba diving off the shores." Squall stated simply. 

"Off the shores?" the captain snorted. "Of the Island Closest to Hell? You must be mad!" 

"Mad men make the best deals," Squall shrugged. He leaned back on the wooden chair he was sitting in and crossed his arms. "Either you take it or you don't. The choice is all yours." 

"Not bad for less than a week of work, right?" Irvine added. 

The captain looked at the two people at the table and slowly reached over to take the money. Suddenly, a gloved hand went over his, stopping him. "Not so fast," Zell said with a friendly smile. "First you take us there and bring us back. Then we pay you the money." 

The captain narrowed his eyes and pulled his hand back and frowned. "How do I know I'll get the money." 

"You'll just have to risk it," Squall said. "We'll pay you half now and half when we return. That's our final offer." 

"Deal." 

"But how do we know that your boat will be there when we leave?" Irvine asked suspiciously. 

"He brings up a good point, Mr. Highwind," Squall stated as Zell took a seat next to Squall and put down a heavy pitcher or beer. "So we will pay you when we board." 

The captain mulled it over and nodded. "It sounds good to me," he agreed. "Very well, gentlemen. I'll see you tonight." 

The blond captain grinned and stood up, giving them a nod as he placed some gil on the table to pay for his drink. Irvine shook his head. "Pick it up," the cowboy ordered quietly. "It's on us." 

The captain nodded once more and headed out the door of the dimly lit bar. "Think he's trust worthy?" Zell asked as he watched the door swing closed. 

"We don't have a choice at this point," Irvine mumbled. "Just be glad we hired him for so little." 

"Ten thousand gil isn't cheap," Squall stated. "We still need to find a way to the Island Closest to Heaven." 

"That definitely won't be cheap," Zell agreed as he took a drink of his beer. He looked around the room. "So when should we go rent the scuba equipment?" 

"Later," Squall said. He looked over at Zell. "Irvine and I will go into the water. You stay on board and make sure the captain doesn't run away and leave us with the sharks." 

Zell nodded. "Understandable." 

"Do you have an idea of where it might be located?" Irvine asked. 

"Quistis let me have some spare undersea maps," Squall explained. "It's all marked and ready to go." 

"Won't it be strange that you two go scuba diving, but I'm not going with you?" Zell asked as he was lost in thought. "I mean...doesn't that just say that something's up?" 

"We'll leave dealing with that to you," Irvine grinned. "I'm sure you'll come up with something." 

"Thanks..." 

"Hey, Squall," Irvine said as he put his mug down and looked at the brunette. "How'd you know that the warehouse was going to explode?" 

Squall was silent. He stared down at the clear, light brown liquid in his mug. "You shot the cord right over the electric box," he stated simply. "I figured sooner or later, it would spark and set off the explosives in those crates. That's why I had Zell break them and push them forward as a distraction." 

"No wonder you graduated at the top of our class," Zell laughed. "Genius." 

"One thing bothers me, though," Irvine admitted. "The _Siren_ was far, but wasn't THAT far away. They must've seen the explosion..." 

Zell nodded. "That's right...they were far enough to not be able to see jump into the water just before it exploded," his eyes went wide as he looked at Irvine and Squall. "You don't think they think we're dead, do you!?" 

"They probably do." Squall shrugged emotionlessly. His eyes were glazed over as he looked straight ahead. 

"Holy shit!" Irvine said as he sat up and gave Squall an uneasy look. "You did it on purpose, didn't you!?" 

"Whatever..." 

"No 'whatever', man! Answer me!" Irvine gasped. "Did you just stage our death!?" 

"Stage our death!?" Zell gasped. "Why!?" He looked over at Squall, who still carried a stoic look on his face. 

Irvine let out a heavy sigh and ran his hand down his face as he leaned back. He shook his head. "That's wrong, Squall...you think she'll forget about you because she thinks your dead? You KNOW she won't!" 

"If Rinoa thinks your dead..." Zell mumbled. A panicked look entered his face. "Then won't she think that she's the cause of your death?!" 

"Zell's got a point, Squall," Irvine said. "I don't think you've thought this all the way through." 

"We have to tell her!" Zell said. "What if she really thinks it's her fault-" 

"It's too late to fix it!" Squall snapped, silencing the two. "It's best that she thinks I'm dead! She can get on with her life if I'm not in the picture! She'll be happy." 

"Will she, Squall?" Irvine said as he stood up. "Will she REALLY be happy? That's pretty damn presumptuous to say you know what will make her happy and what won't." 

Squall glared at Irvine. He stood up and faced off with Irvine, although Irvine was several inches tall than him. "You can show up at Selphie's door and say that you and Zell are alive all you want," Squall said. "But as long as I'm out of Rinoa's life-" 

"Rinoa will be miserable," Irvine concluded. "Lie to us all you want, Squall, but don't lie to yourself," He grabbed his trench coat, which had been hanging from the back of his chair and put it on. "C'mon, Zell. We have scuba gear to rent." 

Irvine walked around the table and headed towards the door. Reluctantly, Zell stood up and looked at Squall. "He's right," Zell said. "I think that making her think you're dead is a mistake." Without another word, Zell went after Irvine, leaving Squall alone at their table with empty mugs of beer and a bill. 

Squall sat back down and leaned forward on the table, running his hand through his hair. "If Rinoa loves me like they say she does, she won't believe I'm dead until she sees my charred, black corpse herself." 

* * *

The _Highwind_ was just a little bit bigger than the _Siren_. It was longer and winder and probably younger. Irvine, Squall, and Zell stood at the walk way that lead up to the ship. They were carrying scuba equipment in bags. "Ahoy!" a voice piped from the ship. 

They looked up and saw a young woman, probably in her mid teens, waving energetically from the side of the ship. She had short black hair that swept over her forehead as looked down at them. "Ahoy!" Irvine smiled and Zell yelled as he waved. 

"At least they're friendly." Irvine said. As they headed up the walk way, a blond man appeared at the top of the stairs. His hair was very pale and he was smiling a friendly smile. 

"You must be the Squall party, right?" he said. "I'm Cloud, we'll be sailing to the Island Closest to Hell with you." 

Irvine looked over at his companions. "Highwind never said anything about a joint venture..." 

"It's okay, we'll stay out of your way," Cloud told them. "We're actually just heading over to gather some materia." 

"Tell the whole world, why don't you!?" a voice shrieked behind him. The girl they had seen earlier bounded over to them and extended her hand. "I'm Yuffie! Nice to meet ya!" 

"Yuffie..." Zell said as he shook her head. "You remind me of someone..." 

"Is she cute and energetic, too?" Yuffie laughed. 

Zell thought for a moment and nodded. He looked over at Irvine. "She reminds of me Selphie." 

"What?" Irvine said as he gave Zell a disbelieving look. "They're nothing alike!" 

"Where is Captain Highwind?" Squall asked, dead pan. 

"He'll be on board soon," Cloud assured them. "He went to get something to drink before we left." 

"Something to drink?" Zell asked. "As in...?" He made a motion of someone drinking from a bottle and then stumbled around. 

Cloud nodded, slightly embarrassed. "Yeah...but don't worry, he's always like that! He always takes us to the island, so he knows his way well." 

"How much are you paying?" Zell asked casually as Yuffie looked over the scuba gear with interest. 

"A thousand to get there and a thousand to get back." Cloud answered. 

Zell's eyes went wide. "That bastard ripped us of-" 

"That's nice to hear," Squall said as he clamped his hand over Zell's mouth. "Can you direct us to where we may put our things away?" 

"Wow..." Yuffie mumbled in awe as she stared at Squall. "You have really good manners," she narrowed her eyes. "Are you rich?" 

"No." 

"I bet you are!" Yuffie said. "You talk just like him!" 

Squall fought the urge to ask who. If he did, he just KNEW she wouldn't stop talking. Unfortunately, Zell didn't catch on to that. "Who?" 

*Dammit, Zell...* 

"His name is Vincent Valentine," Yuffie sighed happily. "He's from really well to do family in Galbadia." 

Squall narrowed his eyes. "How does he look like?" 

"Please, don't get her started-" Cloud began, but it was too late. 

"He's tall, dark, and handsome!" Yuffie stated loudly. "What else could you want!?" 

"I mean more feature wise." Squall stated. 

Yuffie's face then carried a very thoughtful look as her eyes glazed over. "He's tall, like I said, with long black hair and pale skin. He's always wearing red... it's so sexy on him." 

"How did you meet him?" Squall asked as Cloud showed Irvine and Zell where to store their scuba equipment. 

"Cloud's childhood friend invited him to a big party in Esthar and he was there," Yuffie said. "Cloud let us tag along. It was really fun! But Aeris kind of didn't like it..." 

"I liked it," a quiet feminine voice said to the side. They turned and saw a young woman walking from the lower deck. She was wearing a long pink dress and short brown jacket over her shoulders. Her long brown hair was braided and large green eyes looked at the group. She looked over at Squall. "Have I seen you before?" 

"Hello," Irvine grinned. He casually walked over and took Aeris' hand. He lifted it to his lips and kissed the back of it. "My name is Irvine, a pleasure to meet you." 

"Hello, Irvine..." she smiled weakly. 

Zell shook his head. "If Selphie could see you now..." he mumbled. Squall rolled his eyes. 

"Come to think of it..." Cloud mumbled as he shot Irvine a not so nice glare. "You do look a bit familiar...What did you say your name was?" 

"I didn't. It's Squall." 

"Squall...Loire?" Cloud asked quietly. Squall shook his head. "Really? Are you sure? Where are you from?" 

*I think I would know my own name, idiot,* Squall thought to himself. "I'm from Esthar." 

"You wouldn't know Tifa Lockeheart would you?" Cloud asked. "She's from Esthar." 

"Tifa Lockeheart," Irvine grinned as he let out a whistle. "Now THERE is an island I'd love to visit." 

Cloud gave Irvine an even deadlier glare. "Hey, she's my-" 

"Irvine, Tifa is a good friend of my family," Squall said. "She and Ellone are always together and I see her like a sister, so stop talking like that." 

"But Squall, Irvine's right," Zell said. "I mean...you've seen...THEM!" 

Squall ran his hand down his face. "Where is our room?" he asked, tiredly. 

"So you DO know Tifa!" Yuffie said. "How is she doing? Is she still running Loveless?" 

"You know, I heard they just opened up another Loveless in Winhill," Zell said casually. "That's like the fiftieth bar, isn't it?" 

"All right! Are we all ready to go!?" a voice boomed behind them. They turned around and saw Cid Highwind walking up towards them. 

"All set, Cid!" Cloud said. "Let's go!" 

* * *

Two days had passed and they were now just off the coast of a darkened island. Storm clouds seemed to be perpetually hovering over the island as Squall finally emerged from his room at the bottom of the ship. 

"Hey! You finally came up! For a second I thought you were a vampire and sensitive to light or something!" a perky voice shouted. 

Squall looked around, sending glares at everyone and anyone as Yuffie waved at him. For the last two days, he had confined himself in his room. He was drawing out plans to where exactly to look for the treasure. 

That and he was trying to hide from the people upstairs. It seemed that they all got along, but got along too well. When Yuffie pulled out a kareoke system and a half drunk Cid began to sing, Squall vowed not to emerge from his room unless he had to use the bathroom, eat, or leave. 

Zell has been the one to go downstairs and knock on Squall's door to tell them that they were now anchored just off the coast of the Island. He gathered his things and took his gun blade. He had to bring it with him. The Island Closest to Hell, whether actually on the island or not, was still a very dangerous place. 

Irvine was checking the scuba equipment when Squall arrived wearing his pants, boots, and a white shirt. Irvine had left his coat in the room he was sharing with Zell. He wasn't wearing the chaps over his pants, either. 

"All set?" Irvine asked. Squall nodded. 

"We're going to take you guys towards the reefs," Cloud said as they stood there. He pointed to the inflatable raft that they were lowering. "Then Aeris, Yuffie, and I are going to head on the island to look for materia." 

The blond held a massive sword behind him as the raft hit the water. Squall looked it over. "Nice sword." 

Cloud glanced over at the gun blade and nodded. "Yours isn't bad either." 

"Your's is bigger." Squall stated. 

"I'm sure yours is just as effective." 

Irvine grinned and struggled to hold in his laughter. "I didn't think you two would actually compare your...swords..." 

Squall narrowed his eyes, catching on to Irvine's train of thought. Cloud smiled as he finished tying the cloth around his sword. "Too bad you don't have one." 

Squall smirked. "He uses his GUN to COMPENSATE." Irvine shot him a glare as Yuffie and Aeris climbed down the ladder on the side of the ship to the raft. 

Zell let out a heavy sigh. "Just get in the boat. I'll hand you guys the equipment." 

Cloud, Irvine, and Squall headed down the ladder. Irvine stood up to reach for the air tanks and equipment that Zell was handing him. "We'll see you later." Irvine said. 

Zell nodded and waved as Cloud started the motor on the small inflatable raft. The motor stuttered before it sent out a stream of tiny bubbles into the dark water. The raft sped away from the ship and Zell watched them go. "Good luck..." 

Several minutes passed as the raft sped across the water. Squall was constantly checking the map and was giving Cloud directions as they sped over the water. The water went from dark and deep to shallow and clear and before long, Squall was assured that they had reached the right place. 

"This is the spot," Cloud said as the raft stopped right over a clear area lined with brilliant multicolored reefs. Are you sure you guys can make it back to the ship?" 

"We'll be fine," Squall stated as he checked to make sure his vest was fastened. He looked at Irvine, who ran his hand through his hair. He had left his cowboy hat behind as well. "Let's go." 

The put their mouth pieces on and leaned back over the edge of the raft. With two loud splashes, they fell backwards into the clear water and headed off. Above them, the raft's motor roared once more as the other three headed towards the island. Squall waved for Irvine to follow him. 

*The currents would've washed a wayward ship right across the outer barriers of the reef,* Squall was thinking to himself as they swam further out. *Coral takes millions of years to grow...if the ship did brush across the reefs, then, there should be evidence in the form of broken coral...* 

*Aeris' eyes remind me of Selphie...* Irvine was thinking in contrast to what Squall was thinking. His friend was swimming ahead of him, seemingly lost in thought. *But Selphie's eyes are greener. And her smile is so much cuter. I never even got a chance to kiss her...let alone seduce her fully. Stupid Squall and his stupid stubborn ideas...damn I miss them.* 

They had arrived towards the drop zone area of the island. After that point, there was a sudden drop in the ocean floor, probably hundreds of feet deep. Squall swam directly over the edge of the coral, studying it for any sign of broken coral branches. 

Irvine had no idea what he was looking for and merely followed Squall along the reef. Suddenly, Squall stopped and pointed down ward. He sank down a foot to survey the coral. *Broken branches...scraped coral...this has to be it.* 

*I don't know what he's staring at...* Irvine admitted to himself. *It all looks the same to me...* 

Squall's blue eyes followed the trail of broken coral inward, towards the island as Irvine followed behind him. The closer he got to the land, the less coral that was damaged. 

He looked around the area. *There has to be something here...* His voice trailed off as he saw a strange coral structure that was formed against one of the many jutting pieces of stone. He swam over and looked over a large jutting structure and places his hands on it. 

*Now what is he doing? Looking at a rock...great.* Irvine rolled his eyes and swam over, watching as Squall pressed his hands against the rock and looked around it. He pushed on certain areas that looked out and Irvine looked the stone up and down. *Hey...* He swam up a little higher, to the top of the stone and narrowed his eyes. His hand brushed away some of the debris at the top. 

Squall saw Irvine waving to him as he looked up. The cowboy was pointing to the top of the stone enthusiastically. Squall swam up and looked over what Irvine was pointing at. His eyes went wide when he realized that it had originally had a white marble finish. 

To long worn marble eyes stared back at him as Squall swam backwards to get a better look at the structure. When he was close, he couldn't tell what it was, but upon being farther away, he realized it was a marble statue. A statue that had been dumped there from the way it was resting. 

Squall pointed up to the surface and Irvine nodded. The two men swam upwards. "It's a mermaid statue," Squall said as he and Irvine broke the surface and removed their mouth pieces. "It must've been dumped here." 

"Why? Why would anyone dump something here?" Irvine asked. 

"I don't know," Squall breathed. He looked back down at the water. "I'm going to check it out some more." 

Irvine nodded and put his own mouth piece back on before following Squall. The brunette returned to the statue and began to study it some more. He swam around it several times. Irvine watched with interest as Squall began to brush away some of the debris from around the statue with his hand. 

The cowboy turned around and surveyed the area for any other dumped statue and found none. He found that strange. Why would they just leave one behind? 

Squall saw something glisten from the mermaid's forehead. He swam up and began to brush away the dirt that had gathered on the statue. A dark red jewel was placed on the mermaid's forehead and Squall ran his hand over it to dust it off more. 

Suddenly, the sound of stone grinding against stone caught is attention. He whirled around and saw bubbles rising around him. His eyes went wide as he turned back around and saw the mermaid statue being pulled back. 

He looked down and saw a bottomless hole appear below him, sucking in sea water as the statue was pulled back. He struggled to swim against the suction of the current, but was too close. 

Irvine had been farther away and felt the suction before he heard it. He turned and saw Squall already waist deep into the hole. *SQUALL!!* the cowboy's mind screamed. He opened his mouth to yell, letting his mouth piece go as he swam towards the statue. 

Squall disappeared into the hole and the grinding sound was heard once more as the heavy marble statue rolled back over the hole. Irvine slammed his body against it as it locked into place. 

Frantically, Irvine's hands ran along the statue, searching for a lever or button to press in order to get it to open again. He found none. Running out of breath, he grabbed the mouth piece and shoved it back into his mouth before resuming his search. 

Minutes passed. He checked the dial on his vest and mentally swore once more. He was running out of air. *Shit!* He glared at the statue. *I'll be back for you, Squall!!* 

He kicked off the statue and swam back in the direction of the ship. He needed to get help. 

As he swam away, the statue began it's grinding sound once more and slowly, it sank into the coral below it. The only thing left was the garnet from the mermaid's forehead. 

* * *

His head was throbbing. Slowly, his blue eyes opened and looked around. It didn't do him any good, as it was pitch dark in the room. He felt around his vest and pulled out a water proof flash light and turned it on. 

"Hyne..." he whispered as he stood up on shaky legs and shined the light around. From what he could make out, he was standing on the soft sand of an inlet in some sort of undersea cavern. He knelt down and picked up his fallen gun blade in his hand. 

The ceiling was high above him. When he turned he recognized the sound of water and realized that he had probably washed up on the shore. He shined the flash light over the water and then slowly traced it around. He could make out a tunnel and walked up the sandy bank. 

When he reached it, he looked around and placed his hand on the wall. He felt something wet and sticky and frowned as he pulled his hand back. He lifted it to his nose and his eyes went wide. 

Grasping the flashlight in his mouth, he dug through his vest and pulled out a lighter wrapped in a small plastic bag. He created a small flame and held it up against the wall. 

Immediately, the wet substance caught on fire. It climbed up the wall and Squall watched with fascination as it lead up to a series of hanging metal gutters on the wall. The gutters lit up with fire, illuminating the entire hall way with warm, yellow light. 

Cautiously, Squall took one step into the corridor and braced himself. Nothing happened. Still weary, Squall turned off the flash light and pinned it between the scuba vest and his shirt while he held his gun blade in front of him cautiously. 

As he walked through the corridor, he began to notice the pictures on the wall. Carved into the sandstone and painted over with long worn out colors, was a story. 

It reminded him of the fairy tales he used to listen in on when Ellone used to read them for Laguna. Long forgotten stories about a prince and a princess. A knight and a sorceress. The good guy and the bad guy. He paused over one particular scene. 

There was a woman, probably a princess, who was being pulled away by guards. There was a castle in the back ground. A large man wearing a heavy gold crown was standing in front of her as she looked back over her shoulders. The princess seemed to be struggling to look back. 

Kneeling in front of the man Squall decided was the king and father of the princess, was a man. He was dressed in dark clothes and held his hands open. They were empty. 

Silently, Squall continued his walk. The scenes that followed seemed to be depicting an after life. The princess had grown old and never married. She had died in her sleep. 

In the clouds, in what was probably a depiction of heaven, there was a golden key. The same man who had been kneeling before the king. He was holding the key. The princess approached him and he had his arms open. 

The next panel was the princess from the waist up. Right over her left breast was a heart with a key hole over it. Squall stood there and stared at the wall. *The key to her heart...* 

Immediately, an image of Rinoa flashed in his mind and he took a step back. He shook his head to rid himself of the image, but found that it would not leave him so easily. As he stared at the image, he envisioned himself holding a golden key. 

And Rinoa was standing in front of him and slowly pulling her arms apart to reveal a glowing key hole over her left breast. She smiled at him welcomingly. Then it hit him. Unlike the carved image, where the woman was wearing a dress, Rinoa was naked. 

*Oh, Hyne...* Squall leaned back against the opposite wall and put his arm over his head. *WHY am I imagining a naked Rinoa?...Now that I think about it, I don't know how exactly to interpret that panel...* 

He shook his head and stood back up. The other side of the corridor was filled with images of sailing. Probably the story of how the ship ended up there in the first place. 

Squall continued to walk until he reached a series of stairs that lead upwards against a darkened cavern. The sound of water reached his ears and he peered into the darkened cavern and was barely able to make out the gushing water coming from a hole in the limestone wall and into a pool lower into the cavern. 

*Oh crap...* He turned the flash light on once more and shined it over the steep stairs that coiled around the cavern to a hole in the wall a hundred or so feet above him. It seemed to lead into another corridor. He looked back down at the pool of water. He knew that one slip up and he'd be falling into it. *I know I need a cold shower at this point after that whole naked Rinoa thing...but THAT is not necessary.* 

Letting out a heavy sigh, he began his way up the steps and leaned against the wall. The steps themselves were merely a three feet across. At one point, the steps were wet and he nearly slipped and fell fifty feet. Now, his hand was clinging on to the side of the sheer wall. 

By the time he reached the second corridor, he had nearly fallen three times and a series of seven steps had crumbled behind him. He swallowed hard as he looked back down and prayed he didn't have to go back down to leave that place. 

He turned around and looked into the corridor that seemed to be giving off a bluish glow. Upon closer inspection, he found blue crystals embedded in the wall that sent out an eerie blue glow. Proceeding cautiously, he stepped into the corridor. 

Squall looked down to make sure his feet weren't supposed to step on anything when he saw letters carved into to the ground. "There...is nothing..." he began to read. "Worthy of...the one you love's...heart. To prove your love's worth...all you need is the key. If it was meant to be...the answer is the key," Squall narrowed his eyes. "What key?" 

He looked up and his blue eyes went wide as he saw the room that had opened it before him while he was engrossed in reading the carvings on the floor. In a large cavern, lit with glowing blue crystals, were piles and piles of gold bricks, silver bars, numerous jewels, and intricately made artifacts. 

But what caught his eye was the gold key resting on a dusty pillow. It was resting on an old, heavily worn, chest. Slowly, Squall walked up to it and realized that it's handle was shaped like a heart. Reaching out, he the touched the cold piece of metal and lifted it off it's dusty pillow. 

Squall's eyes went down to the key hole in the chest. He lowered the key and inserted into the key hole, turning it until a small click resounded in the room. He lifted up the chest and found a scroll. 

"For ten years, I have gone to and from Garnet to see my beloved Sara," Squall read as he sat down on the chest. "Every time I saw her, I felt that the arsenal of wealth that I had acquired was not enough and I would tell her father that I was unable to gather what was worthy of her. Then I would set forth again in search of more. This wealth in this first cavern is the result of ten years of searching. But words cannot describe the wealthy on the Island Closest to Heaven. Only the wealth in that cavern is worth of her love. This key in this cavern is the key to what lies there. I pray that whoever finds it, finds it solely for love." 

* * *

Irvine grabbed hold of the railing lead down into the water and began to pull himself up. He was out of breath as he trudged up to the deck of the _Highwind_. He practically tore off his scuba gear. 

"Zell!" he shouted. "Zell! Get me another tank!" 

He was on his hands and knees and through murky vision blurred by the salt in the ocean, he saw pale feet with green painted toe nails. His eyes went large as he looked up. Water pooled around his body. 

A warm smile met him as beautiful green eyes met his. "Howdy, cowboy!" 

Irvine smiled weakly. "Selphie..." he gasped out. 

"Irvine," a shaky voice said behind Selphie. He looked past the girl in yellow and saw a young woman surrounded by several familiar faces. She took a step forward. "Where is Squall?" 

* * *

He stumbled over the fallen rocks and glared at them. Squall looked up ahead, still thankful that the massive cavern had yet another passage behind it. From what he could tell, it was leading upwards, meaning up towards the island itself. 

He didn't look back as he followed the passage up. Now that he knew where the first treasure was, he could always come back and get it. The hard part had been tracking it down. 

He wondered why no one else had found it previous to him if there was this second passage into it. He got his answer when he saw the skeletons of would be explorers hanging from sharp metal lances sticking out of the wall. 

Seeing them made Squall tread carefully and watch every move he made. When he accidentally brushed up against a wall, he nearly ran the rest of the way before he realized that nothing was happening. 

*The devices must only be triggered on the way down there...* The further he got up the darkened corridor, with his flash light leading the way, the more and more human remains he found. He silently wondered if this way had only been for exit and that the correct way of getting in was through the ocean. 

After all, the carvings and images on the corridor were moving in the direction he was going and were chronologically correct according to the story. He paused when he heard something up ahead. 

*Birds?* he thought to himself. With a face held in concentration, he quickened his speed through the cave, practically running through fallen rubble, skeletons, and over cracks in the stone earth. 

He could make out a tiny sliver of light up ahead and found himself being elated as he began to climb up a series of fallen steps. Tree roots tripped him every other step as he climbed up, holding on to the tree roots and jutting pieces of stone for balance. 

The light was coming from a pile of rocks that had been gathered over a whole. Squall pushed up against it and swore as it wouldn't budge. He couldn't possibly lift all the rocks off. He paused as he stood there, and stared at the rocks. 

*If it can't go up...it might as well come down,* he thought to himself. He put his gun blade behind him and leaned up against the wall. His eyes looked for the smallest moveable piece. 

As he hands wrapped around it, he began to push and prod at it until he loosened. He pulled it out and let it drop down the steps. He then put his hand into the space where the rock had been and began to loosen the other rocks. The sound of rocks grinding reached his ears as he quickly drew back his hand and turned his head away. 

As expected, dozens of rocks, from the size of his fist to the size of his head tumbled to the ground, picking up dust and dirt. Squall coughed as he somehow inhaled the dirt and looked up. 

As the dust settled, he could make out the hazy light that slipped through the darkened clouds and grinned. *Now...if I can just make it to the beach without getting killed...* 

* * *

"Good news and bad news," Quistis said as she put the phone that belonged to the _Highwind_ down. "Each of the scuba diving vests has a tracker so the rental place can keep track of them. They gave us the tracking number to Squall and Irvine's." 

"What's the bad news?" Irvine said as Selphie wrapped a towel around his shoulders and hugged him. 

"They said that if more than twenty-five percent of the actual vest is missing or your loose the vest or if it's no longer usable, you're not getting your deposit back." Quistis explained. 

"See, I told you we should've bought insurance for them!" Zell snapped. Irvine rolled his eyes. 

"Can you find out where Squall is?" Irvine asked. 

"As long as he's still wearing his vest," Quistis answered. She got on the walkie talkie. "Fujin, get these numbers traced. 853LVK001 and 853LVK002." 

"Tracing!" Fujin said through the walkie talkie. A few moments passed. "001 active!" 

"Where?" Quistis asked. 

"Island," Fujin said. There was a pause as the white haired woman watched the green dot move through her screen. "Northwest bound." 

"He's heading towards the northwest side," Quistis said. She whirled around to the people who were watching them. "Can we use your raft to get on shore?" 

"Yes," Aeris said. "As long as it's returned." 

"All right," Quistis said. She pressed the walkie-talkie once more. "Fujin, Raijin, we're going to head on shore. Can you trace us? We're going to take the other vest." 

"Affirmative," Fujin reported. "Tracing vest." 

Selphie looked at the vest she had put around herself and smiled. She was still wearing Irvine's cowboy hat. "All right, let's go save Commander Puberty!" Seifer shouted. "Everyone in the raft!" 

The group nodded and their last member put some gil on the table. "Twenty grand," the girl with the dark hair said. "For your trouble." She walked to the edge of the boat and climbed down the ladder to the raft below. 

"Turn on the motor, Zell!" Selphie said as they were all securely in the boat. The motor roared as Zell pulled it's string. He held on to it and the raft raced off. 

Yuffie leaned off the side of the boat and watched them go. "I don't know what Zell was talking about," Yuffie snorted. "I'm NOTHING like that Selphie chick. I mean...I am no where NEAR that hyper!" 

Behind her, Cloud, Aeris, and Cid all looked at each other. "Right..." 

* * *

He swung his gun blade and mentally swore. It was like a never ending battle. It seemed as if the entire island was crawling with monsters. *It's probably to make up for the lack of ocean monsters that Irvine and I ran into...* 

Squall jumped over a fallen log as the small T-Rexsaur fell with a thud. He mentally swore as he heard something else growl in the distance. *Oh, you have to be kidding me...* 

He took off, going to the way he was headed - towards' the sea. With any lucky, he might be able to find the ship and flag them down. Behind him, he could hear the heavy foot steps of the T-Rexsaur chasing after him. 

Was it just him, or did them seem bigger? He shook his head and ducked under a vine. It roared behind him and birds flew off the trees, afraid to be caught in the slaughter. He'd been running for quite some time. 

* * *

"He's changing direction," Quistis said as she listened to the walkie-talkie. "Head south a little, Zell!" 

"Gotcha!" the blond said. He turned the boat around. It stuttered before it started up again and moved the raft south. 

As they approached the island, they heard gun shots and their heads turned towards the island. "That's from a gun blade!" Irvine said. "Over there!" He pointed to the sandy beach. "Bring us up on that beach!" 

Zell nodded and headed the raft in that direction. 

* * *

Squall's heart was racing as he jumped over yet another fallen log. Behind him, trees were falling as the creature ran after him. It's haunting loud foot steps beat behind him like a steady drum. It's roaring was bringing silence to the rest of the area. 

Despite the chase, Squall began to notice that there was more and more sand rather than fallen leaves and earth. He looked up ahead saw a pebbly beach with some large grains of sand up ahead. *Okay! We got to the beach...now what?* 

He turned around just as trees were throw aside by a massive monster. Squall held his gun blade up. He was breathing heavily. He had to literally fight his way out of the island. From the moment he stepped out of the hole to now. 

The creature in front of him roared menacingly and Squall, with his tattered clothes and blood streaked face, prepared to fight. His sweat drenched hair waved around his head as he lifted his gun blade. 

Several gun shots rang out as several attacks were throw forward. From what Squall could make out, they were pretty high level as the creature let out a growl of pain before tumbling to the ground. 

"Squall!" a voice shouted to his left. Still breathing heavily, he turned to his side and dropped his gun blade on to the sand. 

Irvine stood there grinning with his gun slung over one shoulder as Zell and Selphie jumped up and down. Quistis smiled as Seifer looked away, as if in denial from having assisted him. 

And SHE was running towards him. In a flurry of baby blue and black, she ran towards him, her feet barely touching the sand as she sprinted across it. Her eyes, large endless depths were brimming with tears. 

His arms opened wide, awaiting her. She slammed into him and his arms immediately closed around her slender body, hugging her tightly. Her arms wound around his neck as she pressed her face against his shoulder. 

He inhaled her scent and whispered his name soft. "Rinoa..." 

"I just..." she swallowed hard and tried to talk. "I just want to be with you..." she whispered tearfully. "Even if it isn't forever..." 


	7. Friends & Lovers

**Thief's Treasure**  
_Chapter Seven: Friends & Lovers_  
By PasifiKStaR

Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews! Lots of hugs to everyone!! ^_^ All the encouragement really helps and is very much appreciated! More Author's Thanks Below!! 

*All Standard Disclaimers Apply - I do not own Final Fantasy or it's characters. 

* * *

Rinoa opened her eyes slowly. The morning light was somehow seeping into her room through her thick dark red velvet curtains. Blinking slowly, she looked over at the spot next to her. Her eyes flew open as she sat up. Her brown eyes darted around the room frantically as she gripped the heavy blankets around her night gown clad body. 

She was SURE he had fallen asleep next to her the night before. She crawled to the foot of her bed and looked around the rest of the room. She let out a whistle. "Angelo!" she called out. "Angelo, come to mommy!" 

Behind her door, there was a scratching sound and whimpering. Rinoa let out a heavy sigh of relief as she put her feet over the bed and into fluffy light blue slippers with little angel wings embroidered on the top. She walked towards the door and reached out to open it, just as someone pushed it open. 

Rinoa jumped back, covering her chest with her arms as Angelo squeezed back into the room, his tongue hanging out and looking happy. "Rinoa?" an intent voice called from behind the door. "May I come in?" 

*Squall!* her senses screamed. "Uh..." she looked around the room and then dove back into bed, burying her body that had been clad merely in an off white, thigh high night gown under the covers. "Hold on!" she called out as she pulled herself back up and brought the covers over her chest. "Okay! Come in!" 

The door creaked open the whole way and Squall stepped inside nervously. He ran his hand through his freshly washed hair as he slowly walked into the room. Reluctantly he looked over at Rinoa, who gave him a 'good morning' smile. "Hey." 

"Hey," she replied quietly. "Um...what are you doing up this early?" 

"Selphie told me to feed Angelo this morning," Squall mumbled. "I hope you don't mind. She gave me the key and Angelo dashed out the second I opened the door." 

"It's okay," Rinoa assured him. "He always does that when it's time to be fed." 

Squall nodded. He shifted from foot to foot nervously as he avoided eye contact. "Um...the key?" he said, lifting up Rinoa's cabin's key. 

"Just give it back to Selphie," she replied cheerfully. Squall nodded and turned around. "Squall!" she called out. 

"Yes?" he stopped half way to the door. 

"Umm...can we talk?" 

*Oh, Hyne...not 'talk'...* "I guess..." he shrugged. 

"Good," Rinoa let out a deep breath. "I just...I just want to make things clear. You know...between us..." 

"I see..." Squall mumbled, still keeping his back to her. He closed his eyes tightly as he silently wished for her to drop the subject. 

"I'd like us to be...um..." 

*Here it comes...* Squall thought to himself. *She still wants to be more than just friends...I'm kind of relieved...* 

"I would still like to be your friend." 

*What.* 

"I mean..." Rinoa took a deep breath and looked around her room as Squall turned to look at her. He kept his shocked expression hidden as he studied her. "I know you have a fiancée...and I just can't help but be jealous of her, you know? She's never even met you..." 

Squall leaned tiredly against the wall. "It's not my choice," Squall said sternly. "It's an arranged marriage." 

"I know that!" Rinoa retorted proudly. "I know how it feels to be...TRAPPED in something like that!" 

"I've never met her...but I still think I owe her this," Squall sighed. "I shouldn't be getting involved." 

Rinoa's eyes watered slightly and she swallowed. "She's lucky," she whispered. "I'm even more envious now." 

"Rinoa, how can she be lucky?" Squall asked. "You were in her shoes once. You know there isn't anything lucky about it." 

"But she gets to marry you," Rinoa whispered softly. She looked down at her hands as they played with the blanket that rested on her lap. "You're not even married to her yet and you're already a good husband." 

"We're not married," Squall sighed. "You KNOW that I shouldn't even be in this room with you-" 

"Do you love her?" Rinoa asked quietly. Squall tilted his head to the side and Rinoa looked up. "Do you?" 

"Of course not!" Squall gasped as he threw his arms in the air. He walked across the room and ran his hand down his face. "How can I possibly love her, Rinoa? I've never even MET her! I can't love someone I don't know." 

"Then why are you so insistent on marrying her?" Rinoa asked. Squall stopped in his tracks and looked at her. 

He narrowed his eyes, offended by her comment. "Because I HAVE to," Squall stated. "I can understand why you ran away from your husband-" 

"Fiancée!" Rinoa cut in bitterly. She turned her head away. "We were never married." 

"Whatever," Squall sighed. "He raped you," Rinoa closed her eyes. Squall just saying those words cut through her. "That's why you ran away. You had a reason. I'm bound to this. I can't just run away." 

Rinoa turned to face him and glared. "Do you think I wanted to marry him because I loved him!?" Rinoa snapped back bitterly. "Do you think I wanted to marry a man I didn't love?" 

"You had an arranged marriage, too! You should understand more than any one on this ship how important they are!" Squall gasped out. "I don't want to marry her, but if I don't, they're going to marry my SISTER off to some stranger! And I don't want the same thing that happened to you to happen to HER!" 

Rinoa's eyes went wide and her hands balled into fists. Squall took a few steps back away the bed that he had begun to loom over. "So that's the reason..." Rinoa whispered. "You don't want your sister to get married to someone she doesn't love." 

Squall let out a heavy breath and ran one hand through his hair. "At least I know that I can be a good husband and that I can handle this girl. My sister might not be able to handle the man they arrange for her to marry." 

"I understand," Rinoa whispered. She lowered her eyes. "That's why I said I would marry Guado." 

Squall looked up. "You...volunteered to marry him?" he asked quietly. He shook his head, as if betrayed. "You're scolding ME after you VOLUNTEERED to marry him!?" 

Rinoa's brown eyes flashed with anger as she looked at Squall. "Don't talk down to me!" she growled. "You don't know-" 

"What's there not to know!?" Squall said. "I didn't volunteer myself to be married! I had to be forced into it with the threat of my sister marrying! But you...you voluntarily went along with it from the get go! And then you yell at me for marrying someone I don't love!" 

Rinoa threw her blankets off and stood up. Tears streamed down her face as she walked up to Squall and raised her hand to slap him. Squall stood there, awaiting the stinging to hit his face. She never moved. 

"Guado wanted to marry my cousin Yuna. Yuna is younger than me," Rinoa stated angrily. "Guado was twice her age," she hissed. "She was in love with some athlete from her school name Tidus. I over heard some of the family elders speaking to Guado about an arranged marriage to Yuna. I couldn't let her marry someone like him. Not when she was in love with another man. So I volunteered to marry Guado when I turned eighteen. In the meantime, I encouraged Yuna to seal the deal with Tidus and they were engaged to be married shortly after they turned eighteen." 

Squall stepped back as her eyes smoldered with emotion. "Why didn't you stop the engagement after they were engaged?" 

"Because Guado was a fucking powerful bastard," Rinoa hissed. "Until Yuna and Tidus were married, he could easily force them apart. I figured, I could always leave him after Yuna and Tidus were married." 

"How...old were you?" Squall asked quietly. 

"I was fifteen," Rinoa stated bitterly. "My fucking family actually allowed a man almost twice my age to be engaged to me at fifteen. Yuna was fourteen, Tidus was my age. We were kids, Squall. Kids shouldn't be forced to marry like that." 

"And...what happened?" 

Rinoa took a deep breath. "I came home from boarding school one summer with Quistis and Selphie. That night, we had a big ball. I went to bed early. Two hours later, I woke up with someone touching me..." Rinoa's eyes narrowed as tears continued to slide down her cheeks. "I began to scream...he shoved something in my mouth...I could barely breath..." she sniffled as she sat on the bed and wrapped her arms around her shoulders. "He kept...touching me in places...and I cried and cried and was begging him to stop. He removed my clothes...and placed his disgusting lips on my body...sixteen years old, Squall...I was sixteen years old..." 

Squall stood there and stared at her. For a moment, she seemed to be reliving the horror as her breathing shallowed and her lips turned into a frown. "And he...?" 

"He was smiling," Rinoa told him bitterly. "He had this smirk on his face...he knew EXACTLY what he was doing. I saw the look in his eyes. The last thing I remember was seeing those laughing eyes just before my magic took hold of me. There was a burst of white light." 

"Guado was killed?" Squall asked. Rinoa nodded. She was staring past him, as if looking into another time all together. 

"My door burst open and Selphie and Quistis rushed in," Rinoa said. "They were still in their ball gowns. They were just heading up to bed when they heard his screams. I burned him to death, you see...I sent out energy that burned him to death." 

"And you ran away that night?" Squall asked. 

Rinoa nodded. "Quistis called Yuna's friend Lulu and asked if she could pick us up. I cast sleep over myself and when I woke up, we were in Fisherman's Horizon." 

"I'm sorry..." Squall mumbled, not knowing what else to say. "I wish...I wish I could do something." 

"I feel so dirty sometimes," Rinoa whispered. "Sometimes, I can feel his hands over me again and I feel dirty. So I wash myself." 

"How many times has it happened?" Squall asked. 

"It never got as bad as the other day," Rinoa mumbled tonelessly. Her eyes were glazed over as she looked straight ahead. "At eighteen...I thought I was over it...pretty naive, isn't it? I got involved with another guy..." she closed her eyes and shook her head. "Half of his face was burned off... and all he did was put his hands on my waist." 

Squall leaned back against the wall, unable to believe what he was hearing. "Rinoa..." 

"So you'll understand why I think that she's lucky to be marrying you," Rinoa whispered tearfully. "Because she'll never have to worry about going through what I went through." 

She sat there, her eyes filled with tears as Squall's blue eyes looked over her. She looked so vulnerable sitting on her bed in just a night gown. Shaking. Anger rose inside of him at the man who did this to her. 

Squall wanted to hold her. To put his arms around her and tell her that it would be okay. That nothing like that would ever happen to her again. But what would he have to back it up? He would leave her soon and wouldn't be there to protect her. 

If he laid so much as a hand on her, she might explode. No wonder Seifer and Quistis had been against him getting close to her. He, not to mention others close enough, could've gotten hurt if not died. Rinoa was a very dangerous young woman. 

"I want to hold you," Squall admitted quietly. Rinoa's eyes turned to him. "You have no idea how much I want to right now," he shook his head and allowed their gazes to meet. "But, I can't...for more than one reason." 

"I know I can't be with you," Rinoa stammered softly. "But I would at least like to try to be your friend. And help you see this all the way through." 

Squall nodded, understanding. If Rinoa couldn't be with him, then she would help him try to be happy. "Thank you, Rinoa..." He straightened up and smiled weakly. "It'll be hard to just be your friend." 

Rinoa nodded. "You know," she said as Squall headed towards the door. She smiled sadly as she looked at the floor where Angelo had curled up to sleep. "When you hold me...I feel clean." 

* * *

Squall leaned against the door and listened to it click closed. He let out a heavy breath as he saw Zell on the deck, shadow boxing. The shirtless blond turned and smiled. "Good morning, Squall!" 

Silently, Squall walked past Zell. *I'm not in the mood...* he thought to himself. Zell looked a little hurt as Squall walked past him without a word. 

"Squall, what's wrong?" the blond asked. 

"Nothing," Squall stated sharply. "But you'll be glad to know that we have a full round trip ship ride to the Island Closest to Heaven and then back to Esthar." 

Zell's eyes went wide and he smiled. "Really!? That's great! Wait until I tell Irvine!" 

"Whatever..." Squall shrugged. He was heading to the stairs that lead to the lounge on the deck above the kitchen. 

Zell let out a heavy sigh and shook his head as he heard two voices coming from below deck. "And that's why Rinoa's the captain." Selphie was concluding. 

Irvine was in tears. He was hugging the railing as he struggled get his breathing in check. "THAT is how you girls got to be part of the crew!?" he gasped. 

Selphie nodded. "Yeah, but at least Seifer learned a valuable lesson," Selphie concluded. "That's why we occasionally spy on him when he goes to port. We're afraid he might loose the boat to some less than worthy of it." 

Irvine was still snickering and Zell walked over. "Hey guys...what's so funny?" 

"Oh! Selphie!" Irvine turned to the petite brunette. "You HAVE to tell him!" 

"Tell me what!?" Zell asked excitedly. "I want to know." 

Selphie giggled. "How we, Rin, Quisty, and I, got the Siren." 

Zell squinted and tilted his head to the side. "Yeah, how did that happen anyway? Raijin was saying something about it being bought by Seifer, but I never thought Seifer would let three girls he didn't know be part of his crew." 

"See..." Selphie smiled weakly. "He didn't exactly LET us..." 

* * *

_ The music was catchy as Rinoa, Quistis, and Selphie stepped into the sea side hotel lounge. They looked around and Rinoa motioned that she was going to get a drink. Selphie nodded and said she would go with her. Quistis looked around the rest of the smoky lounge. _

From what had been told, if she wanted to find a ship unaffiliated with the Heartilly family, she had to go to this particular hotel's bar. She glanced over at Selphie and Rinoa who approached the bar. They needed to get out of the area soon. 

"Excuse me," Quistis asked one of the hostesses. "I need to find a...special boat?" 

"You might want to try him," said the pale hostess with short, jaggedly cut blond hair. She pointed to a gambling table where four men were playing a card game. "The blond guy's winning and his ship is unaffiliated. He seems to be in a good mood...and you have a pretty face. He might hire out for cheap." 

Quistis nodded. "Thank you," she said. She took a deep breath and unpinned her hair. She shook her head, allowing long blond locks to flow around her face. Her blue eyes settled on the well built blond man who had a pile of gil next to him and was smirking the most arrogant smirk she'd ever seen. *Here goes nothing...* 

Selphie caught Quistis walking across the room towards the gambling table and raised an eyebrow. She tapped Rinoa on the shoulder and the brunette jumped. Rinoa turned and followed Selphie's hand to where Quistis was. 

The tall, leggy blond, bent down next to the tall blond man's ear and whispered. "I heard you're unaffiliated," she whispered in her most sultry voice. "Willing to hire out?" 

The blond man's green eyes turned to her and smiled appreciatively. Quistis has slid the zipper of her top down low enough to show ample cleavage as she bent down. She smirked seductively as her hand gently placed itself on his shoulder. "How much you willing to pay?" 

"I don't have a lot on me-" 

"No deal then," the blond man shrugged. "Sorry, honey. You may have a lot to offer, but I need money." 

Quistis straightened back up and narrowed her eyes. *Did he just REJECT me? Oh, HELL NO! NO ONE REJECTS QUISTIS TREPE!* 

"She doesn't look too happy..." Rinoa said quietly as she clutched her hot chocolate in one hand and tilted her head to the side. "I hope he didn't try to reject her...you know that never goes in their favor..." 

"Even if he did, she'll figure out something." Selphie assured her. 

Rinoa nodded and Quistis looked over the card game. "Deal me in." she stated sharply. 

"What?" one of the guys looked up at her in surprise. "What are you talking about?" 

"I said deal me in," Quistis stated sharply. "I've never played, but it doesn't seem to hard." 

The men at the table looked at each other and smirked. "How much you got on you, girl?" 

"Two thousand gil." Quistis replied. 

The men sneered. "Grab a chair." 

Two hours later, Quistis was up three hundred forty eight thousand gil, a six hundred gil shopping spree at one of the men's stores, and had her eye on the blond man's last resort. 

"These are the keys to my boat," he said. "I'm going to win my money back." 

"You've already lost fifty grand, ya know," the man behind him said, worriedly. "Are you sure, ya know?" 

"I'm SURE!" the blond male growled. He shot a glare at the man with the cards. "Deal the damn cards!" 

Rinoa was rubbing Quistis' shoulder's. "You can do it, Quisty," she urged behind her. "We have full faith in you!" 

Quistis nodded and lifted the cards that had been placed in front of her. "So... what did you say your name was?" she asked the man across from her. 

"Seifer," he replied as he glared at his cards with concentration. "Seifer Almasy." 

"Well, Mr. Almasy-" 

"Just call me Seifer." 

"Fine, SEIFER," Quistis rolled her eyes. "How do you like the port?" 

"It's all right." 

"I hope you learn to like it better," Quistis yawned. "You're going to spend the rest of your life here." 

He merely snorted and shook his head. "I think not, Miss..." 

"Quistis," she replied. Her blue eyes lifted to meet his. "But please...call me Mistress Quistis." 

"Oh geez..." Rinoa rolled her eyes behind Quistis as Selphie snickered to the blonde's side. 

Seifer merely snorted out a laugh and placed all his cards on the table. "Sorry, honey," he shrugged as the people who had gathered around him nodded in awe. "Looks like I won't be the one stuck here." 

Chuckling and so sure of himself, Seifer reached out for the money. "That's a nice set there," Quistis said. She placed her cards on the table in one easy move. "But these are NICER." 

By standers let out whistles as Seifer's face paled. "Whoo-hoo!! Booyaka!!" Selphie said as she jumped up and down with Rinoa. "We knew you could do it!" 

Behind Seifer, two people looked at each other and simultaneously ran this hands down her faces. "Lost boat..." the white haired woman sighed deeply. 

"Now what are we going to do, ya know?" Raijin sighed as Quistis began to count her money and take the keys to the boat. "That was the last of our money, too, ya know." 

"Screwed..." Fujin sighed as she shook her head. 

"Sign this," Rinoa said suddenly. She placed a piece of paper on the table. It had been a hand written agreement. "It states that the ship is now officially ours." 

"I'm not signing that!" Seifer growled as he stood up, throwing his chair back as he did so. "You must be crazy if-" 

Suddenly, he found a whip around his neck and Quistis zipped up her top the rest of the way up and put her glasses on the tip of her nose. "Now, now..." Quistis said. "A deal IS a deal." 

"Wait a second! Where are we supposed to go, ya know!?" Raijin asked. 

"Stated in the document," Rinoa said, sounding like a lawyer. "It states that we bring you board as permanent residents of OUR ship. While legally, the ship now belongs to us, we still need a crew to help us with it." 

"I think you'll find that what is stated on the document is more than fair." Selphie piped. 

Seifer was already signing it, as Quistis loomed behind him. "There!" he shouted. "Damn, bitches!" 

"Excuse me!?" Quistis snapped. She grabbed his collar and brought him down to face her. "Say that again to my face!" 

"Why?" Seifer smirked as he lowered his face voluntarily close to hers. "Does it turn you on?" 

* * *

"And after he said that, Quistis beat the living crap out of him," Selphie said, imagining how Quistis' eyes turned scary and she started using two whips instead of one. "She was really really pissed...anyway, that's how we got the boat. Seifer lost it to us gambling against Quistis." 

Zell was clutching his stomach as he laughed. "The great and mighty Seifer! Looses to a girl whose never played before!? That's just TOO perfect!!" 

"Actually," a voice said from behind them. Quistis was coming up on deck and was adjusting her glasses. "I used to watch my grandfather play. He was a champion in his youth and when I was a child he taught me. Basically...I've been playing since I was five." 

Irvine let out a whistle. "Way to con him, Quisty," he smirked. "However, he doesn't seem to mind at all now." 

"I don't think he ever really did, ya know," Raijin said as he came down from the steering room. Fujin was right behind him. "It was a nice change." 

"Finally...girls." Fujin sighed thoughtfully. "Men suck." 

"Here's to that!" Quistis said, passing by Fujin and exchanging high fives. 

Selphie giggled. "Seifer's a pretty big softie when it comes to us," Selphie admitted as she leaned back against the railing. "When Rin said that she wanted to be captain, he didn't really put up a fight." 

_"FUCK NO!" Seifer screamed as he ran towards the side of the boat. "I refuse to let her captain this ship!" _

"Seifer, no!" Fujin yelled as she and Raijin clung on to the male. Seifer was on the edge of the ship, trying to climb over the railing. 

"It's not worth it, ya know!" Raijin shouted as they tried to pry him off the railing. 

"I'll DIE first!!" 

Selphie bit her lower lip and winced. "Well...maybe just a little..." 

Quistis shook her head. "He's such a drama king..." she sighed. She ran her hand through her long bangs as she shook her head. "It really makes me wonder why I said I'm marry him." 

Immediately, Zell and Irvine began to choke as they turned to look at Quistis. "WHAT!?" they gasped. "MARRY SEIFER!?" 

"Oh yeah!" Selphie said, putting her right fist on her left palm as she came to the realization. "We never told you, huh?" 

"But...but...the arguing..." Zell said. "And the bitterness..." 

"Showing love," Fujin shrugged. "Weird, huh?" 

Zell and Irvine nodded. "When did this happen!?" Irvine gasped. 

"A year after we got on the ship," Selphie said. She thought for a moment. "Actually, I don't really know how it happened..." 

"What did happen, ya know?" Raijin asked. "No one ever told us how exactly he asked, ya know." 

"It was kind of strange," Quistis said as she thought back to that night three years ago. "We were arguing-" 

"No surprise there." Selphie giggled. Quistis rolled her eyes. 

"ANYWAY, he said something like 'Hyne, you're such a bitch. I don't know why I was going to ask you in the first place'," Quistis said. A thoughtful smile crossed her lips. "I asked him what he was going to ask me and he tossed a little black box at me. I figured it out from there and said I'd marry him." 

"It's like something from a romance novel," Selphie said. "The crappy ones, but a romance novel, none the less." 

Quistis sighed. "Well, he IS an arrogant, self absorbed, holier than thou, jack ass," Quistis admitted. She paused for a moment. "WHY am I marrying him again?" 

"Because I'm good in the sack!" Seifer's voice rang out. They looked towards the kitchen and realized for the first time that Seifer had been there cooking the whole time. He wore that arrogant smirk, even though he was wearing an apron and holding a bowl while using a whisk to mix it's contents. 

Quistis couldn't help but smirk back. "No, that DEFINATELY can't be it." 

Seifer frowned and mumbled something about her as he turned around and headed back into the kitchen. Selphie giggled. "I'm going up to steer!" 

"I'll go with you!" Irvine shouted suddenly. Selphie turned to look at him. 

"You know how to steer a ship?" she asked questioningly. 

"Uh...no?" He gave her a winning smile and Selphie giggled. She grabbed his hand and dragged him. 

"No problem! I'll teach you!" 

"Yay." 

Quistis shook her head. "Problem?" Fujin said. Quistis turned her head and saw her pointing to Squall on the other side of the boat. 

"She must've talked to him," Quistis sighed. "They're 'friends'." 

Fujin's eye went wide and she made a 'o' with her mouth. She nodded understandingly before she headed down to the deck to sleep. Raijin had already headed downstairs as well. Zell looked up at Squall and then back at Quistis. "Hey, Quistis," Zell asked quietly. The female blond looked over at him. "Can I ask you something?" 

"Go for it." 

Zell took a deep breath. "If you liked someone but a friend was supposed to uh...say marry that person...would you tell your friend?" 

Quistis raised an eyebrow. *Not the most subtle person are we...?* She took a deep breath. "Zell, Squall went out on a limb for Rinoa. You know he's in love with her even though they can't be together. But least they know how the other feels," *At least I think they know how the other feels...* "You should ask yourself if it's worth telling him you like his fiancée. What will it change if you tell him?" 

"I don't know..." Zell said. "I...I just feel I have to get it off my chest, you know?" he mumbled. He shook his head. "I really like her..." He paused and turned his head sharply to look at her. "Wait! How'd you know it was me?" 

"You're not good at hiding secrets, are you?" 

Zell looked down. "No..." he mumbled. He took a deep breath and exhaled. "She went to the same school with us, but Squall never noticed her. I don't think she noticed Squall." 

"So Squall HAS actually met her?" Quistis asked. Zell shook his head. 

"I don't think so," he said. "She worked in the library and Squall never set foot in there. I'd go sometimes to see if she was working. She's really nice and friendly...I wanted to ask her out but...I was too shy." 

"Oh, Zell," Quistis smiled. "You shouldn't let that stand in your way. Everyone is shy." 

Zell let out a chuckle. "Seifer isn't shy! He's always in everyone's face...even if they don't want him to be." 

Quistis smiled slightly and looked over at the kitchen. "Actually...he's shy in his own way," she said quietly. "Just because he's loud and obnoxious doesn't mean he's not shy, Zell." 

The blond male nodded. "I guess so...I think I'm going to tell Squall," Zell said. "I think he has to know." 

Quistis nodded and watched as he headed up the stairs to the lone man standing there. Zell approached Squall. "Zell, I'm not in the mood to talk-" the brunette began, but Zell cut him off. 

"I just need to get something off my chest," he said suddenly. Squall sighed and turned around, leaning back against the railing with his arms crossed over his chest. He looked foreboding and Zell swallowed. "Uh...It's about Dr. Kadowaki's daughter." 

"What about her?" Squall asked, narrowing his eyes. 

"Do you remember back at the Garden...?" Zell began. "That girl who worked in the library-" 

"The one you were head over heels in love with?" Squall said with a slight smirk. "Yeah..." 

Zell blushed and nodded. "That's Dr. Kadowaki's daughter." 

Squall stared at him. His face was blank of all expression as blue eyes settled on another set of blue ones. Zell began to look around, unsure of what to do next. "Are you...serious?" Squall asked. Zell nodded. Squall's eyes narrowed and he walked towards Zell. The blond suddenly found himself stepping back as Squall grabbed his shoulder. "WHY didn't you tell me EARLIER?" he growled. 

"Because..." Zell gasped out. "I...I...I didn't know what to say!" 

Squall let Zell go and pushed him away slightly as he ran his hand through his hair. "Dammit, Zell," Squall hissed. "You just made this ten times worse!" 

"I just...felt I had to tell you..." he whispered quietly. "I know she's your fiancée-" 

"She shouldn't BE my fiancée!" Squall shouted. Zell looked up. Squall looked frustrated more than anything else. "All this time, I thought I hadn't met her when I actually HAVE!" Zell's heart dropped. "Irvine once dragged me to the library to see who you were talking about and they ended up talking until the library closed. And you know what? The girl's in love with YOU!" 

"WHAT!?" Zell yelled. His eyes went wide as he looked at Squall in disbelief. "Really!? What did she say!?" 

"Zell, why didn't you tell me when you heard about the supposed engagement!?" Squall growled. "We could've DONE something then! We could've made it so that instead of marrying ME, she'd be marrying YOU! The heir to a fast food chain!" 

Zell looked down, unsure of what to say. "I...I didn't know what to do when you told me..." he whispered unsurely. 

Squall ran his hand down his face. "Hyne, I'm so mad at you right now Zell...this could've all been avoided..." he mumbled. Zell looked down shamefully. "How am I going to go through with it when I know that you're in love with her..." 

Zell stared at his friend as Squall turned his back to Zell. The more Zell thought about it, the more he realized what it all boiled down to for Squall - his sister or one of his best friends. Marry and he saved his sister. Not marry and he gave his friend the love of his life. "I'm sorry." Zell said. Tears brimming his eyes, Zell turned and dashed down the stairs. 

He headed straight for the deck, not even realizing that Rinoa was sitting on the stairs and had heard their conversation. She watched with sad as eyes as he ran away. Slowly, she put her hand on the railing and pulled herself up. She headed up the stairs. Squall was leaning against the railing, his eyes closed as he was deep in thought. 

Rinoa quietly walked up behind him and put her arms around his stomach as she pressed herself against him. "No matter what happens...you know Zell and your sister will still love you and will understand." 

Squall put his hands over hers as he felt her head press against his back. "I don't want to have to choose." 

Rinoa closed her eyes. "If I could, I would make it so you wouldn't have to." 

* * *

"Remember," Selphie said sternly as she stood at the edge of the ship, by the plank as Angelo stood by her side. "You are NOT to leave the ship." 

"I know, I know..." Rinoa sighed. "We've been through this a hundred times before." 

"Why can't Rinoa go to port with us?" Zell asked. 

All of them, save Rinoa and Squall, were on the pier waiting for Selphie. Quistis looked around. "This is a Galbadian port," she explained. "Anyone and everyone will recognize Rinoa. So whenever we stop at any of the ports in Galbadia, we make sure Rinoa stays on the ship just in case." 

"We'll be back soon!" Selphie smiled and waved as she dashed down the plank and linked arms with Irvine. She took his hat and put it on her head as they walked down the rest of the pier. 

Rinoa sighed and closed the side door of the ship. She watched them as she made sure they were long gone and whirled around. Squall was downstairs, meaning she was alone on the deck. She ran up to the top deck and pressed the button and pulled back the canopy over the deck. 

She looked over the railing and the main deck to make sure Squall wasn't anywhere in sight. Without another thought she laid out a light blue beach towel with sea shell prints on it. Rinoa took off her duster and her dress, revealing her bikini. 

Reaching into one of the cabinets underneath the seats against the ship, she pulled out some sun tan lotion and generously put it on her body before laying down. She loosened her top to assure herself no tan lines and closed her eyes. 

That was how Squall found her. Her bikini was barely enough to cover anything and Squall nearly fell back down the stairs when he saw her there. She heard stumbling and opened her eyes. "Squall!" she gasped. She tightened her hold around her top as she sat up. "What are you doing here!? Weren't you downstairs!?" 

Squall was diverting his eyes in vain. They always seemed to go back to her. "There...there's someone here to see you!" he gasped. *Why the hell did he tell me to get her? Did he KNOW?* 

"Who?" Rinoa asked. 

"Your cousin." 

Rinoa's eyes went wide as stood up, still covering her chest and grabbed her clothes. Squall turned around quickly and rushed back down the stairs as she put her clothes on. When she came down, she froze. Vincent wasn't standing there waiting for her. 

"Rinoa!" a female voice gasped. One blue eye and one green eye lit up as she laid them on the black haired female. Behind her, a young man waved with a smile as his bleached blond hair spiked up around his head. 

"Yuna..." Rinoa gasped. "Tidus..." she mumbled as she looked at the couple. She felt her heart stop. "What are you two doing here?" 

* * *

When the group arrived, Squall was sitting on the stairs to the upper deck, waiting for them. He looked solemn look on his face as the chattering group went silent. His blue eyes lifted to meet their gaze. 

Immediately, Selphie and Quistis assumed the worse and chorused, "Where is Rinoa!?" 

"In her room." Squall said quietly. The two girls dropped the things they were holding and ran to Rinoa's room. 

"Squall, what's going on?" Irvine asked, concerned. 

"Two people arrived today to see Rinoa," Squall said. "Rinoa's cousin and her...spouse." 

"Vincent's married?" Fujin asked. 

"It wasn't Vincent," Squall said, not reacting to the fact that Fujin knew who Vincent was. "Someone named Yuna and her husband, Tidus." 

"Shit, is she okay-" Seifer began. Squall nodded. 

"She's just...tired." Squall stood up without another word and walked past the group. 

Inside the bedroom, Rinoa was laying on her stomach, reading a small leather bound book with intense interest. When her friends burst in, looks of worry on their face, she gave them a smile. 

"You'll never believe this," Rinoa smiled weakly. "My mom's family wants me back so bad, they're willing to allow me to remain single. As long as I go home." 

Quistis looked at Selphie, who closed the door. They walked over to her bed and sat down next to the brunette. "Who came?" Quistis asked. 

"Yuna," Rinoa smiled, slightly sad. "She married Tidus...she's pregnant, you know..." 

Selphie and Quistis looked at each other as Quistis gently stroked Rinoa's hair comfortingly. "That's good to hear..." Quistis said. 

"Have they...decided on a name?" Selphie asked quietly. 

"They don't know yet," Rinoa answered. She blinked as her eyes rimmed with tears. "I'm glad to see that they're happy...at least...at least that worked out." Rinoa sat up and wiped her eyes. "At least they're happy, right?" 

Quistis nodded. Selphie looked at her friend sadly. Rinoa had given up her life so that Yuna and Tidus could be happy. Just like Quistis and her gave up their posh existences to accompany her. Not that they were in as much trouble as Rinoa, or that they resented her for it, but still. 

"So they said you can come back?" Quistis asked. Rinoa nodded. 

She reached over and picked up an elaborate envelope and handed it to them. "My father, personally, probably doesn't even care," Rinoa whispered. "But because THEY want me back, he's willing to send troops." 

"Why do they want you back so bad?" Selphie asked as she read over the letter that was enclosed. "Is it because of your magic?" 

"I don't want to go back," Rinoa whispered quietly. She closed her eyes and shook her head as she covered her face with her hands. "Don't make me go back there!" 

"Rinoa, shh..." Quistis put her arm around Rinoa and hugged her as Selphie went to get tissues. "You don't have to go back there...Not after what they made you go through..." 

"They don't want me...they just want my magic," Rinoa stammered tearfully. "I'm just going to be another tool for them in that stupid feud!" 

"Rinoa, we're happy here," Selphie assured her. "As long as you want to stay on the ship, we'll stay on the ship. This place..." She looked around. "This place holds the best memories of my life." 

"I don't want to ruin your lives again," Rinoa admitted. "You didn't have to come with me and you did, anyway..." she whimpered. "I'm sorry..." 

"You didn't force us," Quistis reminded her. "Both you and I know that if we didn't want to come with you, we wouldn't." 

"Besides," Selphie added. "If we hadn't come with you, Quistis would've never met Seifer and they wouldn't be getting married." 

Quistis smiled slightly. "Which might have been a good thing," she said, making Rinoa giggle slightly. "But I wouldn't have met him if it weren't for you. We wouldn't have met Raijin and Fujin." 

"Or Irvine, Zell, and Squall!" Selphie added. 

"And we all know how much Selphie LOVES Irvine..." Rinoa sniffled with a slight smile. 

"No matter what, we'll support your decision," Quistis said. "We're friends. That's what we do for each other." 

"Thanks, guys..." Rinoa smiled. "As of right now...I don't want to go back. I want to help Squall first." 

* * *

"Where did you go? We were just about to leave without you!" Irvine said as Squall got on the ship. Behind him, Zell closed the gate and helped Selphie pull up the plank. 

"I just had to get something." Squall said. 

"Commander Puberty's on board!" Seifer shouted as Squall shot him a glare on his way to the upper deck. "Let's get out of here, Raijin!" 

The ship began to pull out of the dock and Squall reached the upper deck. Rinoa was sitting there with Angelo, reading the book that Yuna had brought her. She looked up and smiled. 

"You should've gotten her faster," she said with a smirk. "Seifer kept bitching." 

Squall grinned. "Mission accomplished," he took something from his pocket. "I've been meaning to give you something." 

"What?" She looked up as she closed her book. Squall handed her a small paper back. She took it curiously and put her book aside as she opened it and pulled something out. Her eyes went wide at small circular silver picture frame. Inside was that picture of them from the photo booth that night at the boardwalk. 

"I keep forgetting to give that picture to you," he shrugged. "That is the picture you wanted, right?" 

She looked up at him with large, shimmering brown eyes and smiled. Without another word, she shot out of her chair and threw her arms around Squall's neck. He looked surprised as she hugged him tightly. "Thank you," she whispered softly in his ear. Her heart wrenched. "My...friend." 

* * *

**Author's Thanks**: Thanks to everyone who even took time to read this story so far! I hope it's at the very least enjoyable! Big thanks to all the reviewers - Verdanii, Fire Maiden, Rizza426, Serence Ice Mage, FF8 Zidane, Almicene, Hiasha, bembem, remote mine, SkyeLight, Humini, Jager, aleleme, canopie, kAilea, Kathy mathy! Thank you so much!   
To Fire Maiden, Rizza, Serene Ice Mage, FF8 Zidane, Almicene, Hiasha, bembem - thanks for reading this story, too! I'm really happy!! ^_^ I hope you guys will enjoy "After ReCreating Hell"! 


	8. Here In Heaven

**Thief's Treasure**  
_Chapter Eight: Here In Heaven_  
By PasifiKStaR

Author's Note: I just came to the realization that Angelo is FEMALE. o.O Okay, next story I write, Angelo will be female. I apologize. ;_;

*All Standard Disclaimers Apply - I do not own Final Fantasy or it's characters. 

* * *

*This must've been the hardest, longest week of my life...* Rinoa thought to herself as she fell down on her bed. She sighed heavily and put her arm over her head, right over her eyes. 

She spent most of the time trying to make sure she was never left alone with Squall. She feared that every time they would be alone, she would break down and run to him. Luckily for her, Squall had spent the majority of his time in his own cabin, most likely for the same reason she was now in hers. 

Dinner had just ended and Selphie let the others to the upper deck to do their nightly star gazing. They had to admit, Zell was getting good as pointing out directions. While he, Selphie, Irvine, Raijin and Fujin would relax there, Quistis would 'help' Seifer in the kitchen. 

Whatever she 'helped' him with involved having the door closed. When Irvine realized this, he automatically assumed something else and grinned every time Quistis ushered everyone out of the kitchen after their meal. 

Rinoa would return to her room and go over the leather book Yuna had given her. It turned out that Yuna was now the caretaker of Rinoa's mother's house. A massive estate just outside of Deling City. Technically, it was still under Rinoa's name and Rinoa, therefore, owned it, however with her currently disaffiliating herself with her family - both sides, Yuna had taken it upon herself to take care of her elder cousin's property. 

It was the house where Rinoa had been born and where her mother had died. While cleaning out one of the rooms, Yuna stumbled across a hidden box of Rinoa's mother's things and found the leather book. 

Seared into the leather cover was the word 'diary'. So when Yuna was asked to try to find Rinoa and coax her to return to the family, she brought the diary in hopes that it would remind her of her mother and bring her back. 

Unfortunately for Yuna, the diary had the opposite effect. Rinoa turned on the light by her bed and opened the drawer on her night stand. She took out the leather book and sat down against Squally-poo. 

_ Dear Diary, _

Hyne, I hate these people. Why can't they just stop with the feud? Every time we think we've come with an answer to lead to peace between the families, they have to bring up old memories. Yes, I do understand that something's are unforgivable, we but we are not all that innocent either. 

I know full well what this family has done to his family. I can understand why they are angry at us. It is for the same reason we are angry at them. I just don't understand it! No one is even sure WHY we are fighting any more. What was the reason this started anyway? I doubt anyone knows. It's so frustrating! 

I REALLY thought that we could be together. After meeting him, I really find it hard to believe that the Loires are the demons that my family makes them out to be. He's so silly! 

At any rate, I really wish that my family would re consider all this fighting. I don't think it's worth it and no matter what, I'll never change my mind about HIM. I don't care what my family says. I love Laguna Loire!! 

Love,

Julia Heartilly 

* * *

"What do you mean you don't think the treasure's entrance is underwater?" Irvine asked incredulously as Squall laid out the maps in front of them. "It was last time!" 

"He has a point," Zell said. "You told us that you figured it was underwater because it was supposed to have happened on a ship wreak, right? So if the treasure was on a ship wreak here, shouldn't it also have some underwater clues?" 

Squall shook his head. "Think about it like this," he stated. "What are the chances that BOTH ships washed up on two separate islands like that?" 

"As slim as the chances are," Quistis said. "That's they way the legend goes." 

"I think that there is a cavern somewhere on the island that holds the treasure," Squall stated. "When I was in the first cavern at the Island Closest to Hell, I found a scroll. It said that there was another cavern with the only treasure worthy of Princess Sara." 

"So we have to go on to the island this time?" Irvine asked, suspiciously. 

Squall nodded. "I'm not asking everyone to go with me," he asserted. "I'll go by myself if necessary." 

"Squall, you know we can't let you do that," Irvine sighed as. He leaned back on his chair. "I'll go with you." 

"Same here!" Zell agreed. "That island's name is pretty deceiving. It's just like the Island Closest to Hell." 

"Thanks, guys." 

"I want to go, too!" a female voice said. The group looked up and saw Rinoa standing at the door. "I want to go with Squall and the others to the island." 

"No." Seifer and Quistis stated sternly. 

Rinoa narrowed her eyes. "You can't stop me!" she stated. 

"Rinoa, it'll be fine," Squall assured her softly. He suddenly felt warm all over. "Zell and Irvine will be enough-" 

"I said that I would help you through this to the best of my ability," Rinoa told him sternly. "And I plan to!" she said. 

"I believe you," Squall answered as he stood up off his chair and walked over to her. "But the fact of the matter is that it's much too dangerous-" 

"I'm not completely helpless, Squall," Rinoa told him seriously. Her brown eyes were filled with determination. "As your FRIEND, I am going to accompany you." 

"Rinoa," Quistis sighed heavily. "You KNOW how dangerous that island is. It's a risk just letting these three go." 

"I said I would help him, Quistis," Rinoa told the blond seriously. "And I will." 

Seifer opened his mouth and Quistis held up her hand to silence him. "If that's what you want," Quistis relented. Seifer and Selphie both looked at her with surprise. "Then I won't stop you." 

Selphie looked over at Rinoa and narrowed her eyes. "If Rin's going, so am I!" she said. 

"What!?" Irvine gasped, nearly falling off his chair. He looked over at her with large eyes, horrified at the very idea of it. "WHY!?" 

"I'm not going to let Rinoa face that stuff by herself!" 

"She won't BE alone!" Irvine nearly shouted. "WE'LL be with her!" 

"If Selphie is going, then so am I." Quistis added. 

Slowly Seifer's head turned to look at her, looking extremely displeased. He saw this coming. If Rinoa was going, then so would Selphie. If Selphie and Rinoa both went, the Quistis would go as well. She'd been that way since they met. Regardless, Seifer was displeased with the situation. 

"That means I have to go, too, doesn't it?" he asked simply. 

Quistis turned her head away from him and shrugged. "I'm not in charge of your life. You can do whatever you want," she stated, sounding slightly bitter. "But if you WANT me to die...I can't stop you." 

He frowned. "You KNOW I don't want you to die," he grumbled. "Why do you have to go with them anyway!?" 

"Because they're my friends, Seifer!" Quistis growled back, narrowing her blue eyes. Seifer suddenly wanted to shrink back in his seat. 

"Fine!" he growled instead. "I better go to make sure you don't get yourself killed or trip over a root or something..." 

A sly grin crossed Quistis' lips, as if she had planned it from the beginning. "It's settled then. We're all going. I'll have Fujin and Raijin stay here and watch the ship." 

"Booyaka!" Selphie shouted with smile as she jumped her chair. "One for all and all for one! We're like the three muskrats!" 

"That's the three musketeers, hyper girl," Seifer said as he rolled his eyes. "Why am I always surrounded by idiots...?" he mumbled under his breath. 

"Because you are one." Quistis replied, rather quickly. Seifer glared at her and she pretended to study her nails. 

Squall let out a heavy sigh. He really hadn't expected this many people to go with him. Let alone expected Rinoa to come. He glanced over at her, she seemed quite pleased. 

"We leave tomorrow at dawn," he sighed tiredly. "I'm going to bed." 

He walked past them and out the door. Behind him, the others continued to talk. Rinoa quickly went after Squall. "Wait a second, did you ever decide where we were going to start!?" He was already half way down the stairs to the lower level when she reached him. 

"Rinoa, you really shouldn't be going," Squall suddenly stated. She jerked her herself back, is if singed, and frowned. "You could get hurt." 

"So could you, and that's not stopping you!" she retorted proudly. Squall stood by his door and looked back down the narrow hall way. She stood a few feet from him. 

He let out a heavy sigh. "I don't want to have to worry about you, too." he admitted. 

Rinoa had a determined look on her face. "You're being selfish!" she stated. Squall looked surprised. 

"I'M being selfish?" he questioned as he frowned. "You're the one who wants to go out there and risk your life and drag everyone else with you!" 

"If anything happens to you, I want to know what!" Rinoa told him seriously. "I don't want to spend another night wondering if you're alive or not..." her voice was shaking. "I'd rather know than not know," She turned around and headed up the stairs. "Goodnight, Squall!" 

Squall opened his mouth, but found that no words would come out. He let out a heavy sigh. *Hyne...tomorrow will be hell in heaven.* 

* * *

"Why do I have to stay on the boat!?" Zell cried out as he watched Irvine and the others remove their things from the inflatable raft that Rinoa had basically bought from Cloud and his friends. 

"Someone has to stay here and make sure the boat is okay," Squall began. "We've leaving you a walkie-talkie. If you need anything, call Fujin and Raijin on the ship." 

"That's all well and good, but I don't see why I can't go with you! Why can't someone else stay?" Zell demanded. 

Squall let out a heavy breath. "Zell, don't make this so difficult," Squall explained. "Someone stays by the beach and then the rest of us will go inland. We might split up and it's easier if it's even." 

"So why can't..." Zell's eyes drifted across the group. Selphie was looking at a map while Irvine pointed out where they were currently standing. To his right, Quistis was examining her whip intently as Seifer loaded Hyperion with bullets. 

Standing behind Squall with a shoot star on her arm was Rinoa. She was kneeling down on the sand and talking to the furry member of the team. "So keep Zell company, okay, Angelo? Be good and I'll give you some doggy treats next time we dock." 

Angelo barked and Zell frowned. "I'm stuck with the dog!?" 

"He's Angelo - SUPER dog," Selphie corrected. "Don't brush Angelo off. He's really smart." 

"Yeah! For getting people to follow him!" Zell gasped. Angelo looked over at Zell and tilted his head, as if studying Zell. "Hyne, what happens if we're attacked by a T-Rexsaur or something!?" 

"Just because he's a dog doesn't make him any less of a member of this team!" Rinoa retorted. 

"Yeah, chicken-wuss," Seifer snickered. "The dog's more useful that you." 

"Shut up, Seifer!" Zell snapped. 

"Nothing personal, Zell," Squall said. "But I don't want to leave one of the girls alone with the ship and I don't think Irvine and Seifer are willing to leave Selphie and Quistis behind." 

Zell kicked the sand bitterly. "Fine..." he mumbled. *I'm being punished, aren't I? This is because I told you I'm in love with your fiancée!* 

"Zell," Rinoa said. She walked over to him and put a hand on his shoulder. "Trust me on this...Angelo is a special dog." 

"I'm sure he is, Rin-" 

"You don't believe me?" Rinoa sighed. She turned and looked around the beach. "Ugh! Listen, there's nothing to attack. But when there is, point to it and tell Angelo - Angelo Strike! Easy as pie." 

Zell looked at Rinoa suspiciously. "Are you sure that's even going to work?" Rinoa nodded. Zell looked at Angelo and grinned. He pointed to Seifer. "Angelo STRIKE!" 

"Angelo, NO!" Rinoa gasped. Irvine shook his head as Squall ran his hand down his face. Rinoa's command over powered Zell and Angelo stopped half way to Seifer and sat down. "Zell, please! Don't waste Angelo's energy like that." 

"We'll see you later..." Squall sighed heavily. 

"How long do you think it'll take!" 

"If we can't find it by tonight, we'll come back," Squall stated. "We won't stay on the island over night." 

"We'll try to make it back by sunset," Irvine said. He draped his arm around Selphie as he walked away. "Don't get lonely!" 

Zell grumbled as he watched the six people walk into the island. He looked down and saw Angelo sitting next to him. The dog looked back up at him with large eyes. "I can't believe I'm stuck with a dog..." 

He sighed and Angelo looked straight ahead. *I can't believe I'm stick with this guy...* 

* * *

"Think they'll be all right?" Rinoa asked as they proceeded through the island. Squall merely nodded. 

"He'll be fine." he stated coldly. 

"So where exactly are we going?" Irvine piped behind him. 

"Check your compass." Squall said simply. 

"I don't have a compass." 

Squall rolled his eyes and reached into is pocket. He pulled out a small, circular object that would fit in the palm of his hand. He tossed it over to Irvine. The cowboy caught it. "What do you think?" 

Irvine narrowed his eyes as he looked at the face of the compass. "I think your compass is broken." 

"Let me see!" Selphie said. She looked over as Irvine lowered his hand. The needle was moving from side to side wildly. "Whoa! What's up with your compass, Squall?" 

"The compass on the vest of the scuba gear did the same thing when we reached the mermaid underwater," Squall stated as he used his gun blade to cut through the brush. "When we actually reached the mermaid itself, it began to spin around, quickly, in a circle." 

"I see," Quistis nodded. "So you think that there might be a marker on land like the mermaid that will cause your compass to do the same thing." 

"And that marker will be the key to the entrance, right?" Seifer said. He let out a snort. "It's so simple..." 

"The markers must be made of a material that screws with the magnetic waves in the air," Quistis deduced. "So I take it we move in the general direction the compass is moving to find the marker?" 

"Exactly." Squall agreed. 

Irvine let out a whistle. "Smart, Squall," he admitted. "So once we get to the cavern...then what do we do?" 

"We mark it and take as much of the treasure back," Squall stated, as if it was the most obvious answer in the world. "If we need, to, we'll make as many trips as necessary." 

"That's quite a lot of work for a dowry, Squall," Quistis began. "Are you sure it's all worth it?" 

"A lot of people's lives depend on this." Squall found himself repeating the words he had used to convince himself that marrying Kadowaki's daughter was the best move. 

"You sound like you're having a lot of doubts, Commander Puberty," Seifer said casually. "Having second thoughts?" 

"...." Squall merely shot Seifer a grin as the man smirked behind the group. Squall turned his head around. "How would you know?" he hissed under his breath. 

"I know that I'm marrying for love!" Seifer countered, making Squall's anger flare. "And that I know that marrying Quistis because I love her is worth more riches than there could ever be made!" 

* * *

"I'm worried about Squall," Ellone said as she sat down to dinner with her uncle. She looked down at her food, gently pushing it around with her fork as her uncle looked up from across the table and tilted his head to the side in question. Ellone let out a heavy sigh. "What if he doesn't come back?" 

Laguna smiled slightly. "He'll be back," he assured her. "He wouldn't just leave us like that." 

"He looked so friendly with Rinoa," Ellone said, referring to the picture that Laguna had kept. "He had this look in his eye like he was in love or something! What if he decides to stay with her rather than come back to Esthar?" 

Laguna looked down at his food. "He won't do that, Ellone," Laguna whispered quietly. "He knows what'll happen if he doesn't return." 

Ellone looked up at him and frowned. "I thought they said that Squall volunteered to marry Kadowaki's daughter." 

Laguna's eyes went wide as he sat up straight and looked at her. "Uh..." he began to stammer nervously. "I mean that he knows what's riding on this marriage-" 

"No," Ellone cut him off. "Uncle...what's going on?" 

Laguna's eyes darted around the room. "Uh...well...you see..." 

Ellone leaned over and studied him. "Squall never wanted to marry Kadowaki's daughter, I know that much. But they said that he volunteered to do so anyway for the sake of the family. But something doesn't add up..." 

"Really!?" Laguna piped nervously. "Like what!?" 

Ellone narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Well for one, Squall never cared about the family's war against the Heartilly family before...why would he suddenly care now?" 

"Responsibility?" Laguna suggested. Ellone raised an eyebrow. "AH! LEG CRAMP!" Laguna howled in mock pain as he grabbed his leg with both hands, dropping his fork and knife on the nearly empty plate of food. 

"Uncle Laguna!" Ellone demanded. "Tell me why! The REAL reason!" 

Laguna swallowed hard and he brought his hands back up. With down cast eyes let out a heavy sigh. "It was either Squall got married to the Kadowakis or you get married. Squall couldn't stand the thought of letting you marry someone you didn't love..." 

He trailed off as Ellone fell back on her seat and looked out with a dazed look on her face. "So he said he would marry her so I wouldn't have to deal with a loveless marriage..." she mumbled. She closed her eyes and ran her hand down her face. "Oh, Hyne..." 

"I tried to talk them out of it, Ellone," Laguna explained. "I really did! But the elders of the family wouldn't listen!" 

"Why didn't anyone tell me!?" Ellone gasped. She turned to Laguna. "Why didn't YOU tell me!?" 

Laguna looked down sadly. "I didn't want you to get married either..." 

"But he's your SON, uncle!" Ellone gasped. "Why would you put him in a loveless marriage like that!?" 

"Because I know that Squall would have less trouble," Laguna mumbled. He looked up at Ellone. "You're just like Raine, Ellone..." he whispered sadly. "If you had an arranged marriage without even knowing your husband, you'd be miserable." 

"But Auntie Raine wasn't in an arranged..." Ellone trailed off. Laguna was shaking his head. 

"Now that I think about it, I wonder why she even bothered with me," Laguna mumbled. "I mean...she was intelligent and beautiful and charismatic...but when she found out that she was to be married to ME...oh, Hyne, how she cried." 

"But...but I thought you two fell in love..." Ellone whispered quietly. 

"We did, Ellone. But it took some time," Laguna admitted. "Raine felt she lived under another woman's shadow. I felt that I was giving her so much grief. But we grew on each other." 

Ellone stared at her uncle. "There was another woman?" 

Laguna looked down shamefully as the door opened and Kiros and Ward walked in. They had heard them talking and decided to get something before walking in on the conversation. Kiros handed Ellone a small box. With shaking hands, Ellone took it from him and opened the lid. There was a 5x8 framed picture of a beautiful woman along with some other trinkets and scented envelopes that contained love letters. 

"Ellone...She was Laguna's first love." Kiros said softly. 

Ellone ran her finger down the picture. The woman's face was familiar. "She's beautiful..." 

"They had run away to get married," Kiros said as he took a seat across from the young woman. "And got caught in a storm. She died at sea...Laguna was distraught..." 

Ellone looked over at her uncle, who had a pained look on his face. "A few years later, I met Raine for the first time. The decision had already been made to be married. At that point, I no longer cared about anything. Raine changed all of that..." 

"So this is the woman who Auntie Raine felt she lived in the shadow of?" Ellone asked. "What was her name?" 

Laguna closed his eyes. "Julia Heartilly." 

Ellone's eyes went wide. "HEARTILLY?" 

"To make peace Laguna and Julia wanted to get married," Kiros explained. "When she died, everything went down hill." 

Ellone looked back at the picture in shock. "Why does she look so familiar...?" 

Laguna reached into the breast pocket of his shirt and removed a small picture. "Because..." he said. He handed the small picture to Ellone. 

The girl's brown eyes went wide. "Hyne...she looks like Rinoa." 

* * *

"We've been climbing for HOURS!" Irvine grumbled. "Are we THERE yet!?" 

Seifer was grinding his teeth as he struggled to hold back his anger. That had been the hundredth time that Irvine had asked that question. Finally, he gave in. "No, we're not THERE yet!" he growled angrily. "If we were there, would we still be walking!?" 

Irvine took a step back as his large eyes blinked. "It's just a question..." he mumbled. "Don't freak out on me." 

"I'm not freaking out!" 

"Seifer...calm down..." Quistis told him behind narrowed blue eyes. 

"He started it!" Seifer gasped. Quistis shook his head and Seifer growled. 

"Shut up!" Squall shouted over his shoulder. The group looked up ahead where Squall was sitting on a rock while Rinoa cast a healing spell over the gash on his arm. 

Hours of fighting off beasts had finally taken it's toll. Squall had always been the one that was at the front of the group, taking the blunt of the attacks. Rinoa had been right behind him to attack with a spell while the others surrounded the creature. 

Regardless, Squall had several nasty cuts and bruises. This had been the second time that they had stopped to rest so that Rinoa could heal some of his mounds. "How's that?" she asked intently as her hand gingerly traced his arm. 

"That's fine." Squall said coldly. He looked over at Rinoa and stood up, offering his hand to help her up from her kneeling position. She took it and allowed him to pull her up. 

"This is strange..." Quistis said. She was looking over at the compass her hands. Selphie turned and looked. 

"Hey! It's spinning!" Selphie said. She looked around. "But I don't see a statue any where..." 

"We're in a clearing..." Irvine mumbled. "Any statue would stick out pretty easily." 

"Hey..." Selphie said. She looked over at Squall and Rinoa. "Squall, what were you sitting on?" 

"I don't know...a rock?" Squall sighed. 

Rinoa looked behind him to the white stone that he had been sitting on. She smiled. "Selphie, you're so smart!" she gasped. 

"Thank you!" Selphie piped. 

"WHY!?" Seifer asked, looking absolutely perplexed. 

Rinoa began to kick away the fallen leaves and debris on the clearing floor. Just as she expected, she found cold white marble. "Help me clear this stuff away!" 

"Right!" Selphie said. She began brushing debris aside with her feet. "Irvy, don't just stand there! Come on!" 

"Huh? Oh right!" He nodded and also began to help move the things aside. 

"Seifer," Quistis said, using her tone of warning. "You're not moving." 

"This is dumb." the blond male stated simply. 

Quistis put her hands on her hips and frowned. "Seifer..." 

"Fine..." he grumbled. As Quistis returned to helping the others clear the marble, Seifer slowly dragged the edge of Hyperion across the area, making a thin line that revealed marble. "Look...I'm helping..." 

Quistis rolled her eyes. "Smart ass..." 

"Check this out!" Rinoa gasped. She stepped back and tilted her head to the side. "It's not a mermaid..." 

The group all stepped back and looked over the five foot in diameter marble seal on the ground. It was a large circle and inside, was a woman in the fetal position. She had long hair and wings coiled around her body. The stone that Squall had been sitting on was an extension of the seal. It used to be part of a wing that jutted from the ground. 

"I get it..." Irvine nodded. "The Island Closest to Heaven...it's an Angel seal." 

"No shit." Seifer rolled his eyes. 

"Seifer, quiet!" Selphie said with a frown. "It might be a big thing for Irvy to realize it!" 

"Thank you, Selphie..." Irvine paused. "Wait...what?" 

"Now that we found it," Quistis said. "How do we get in?" 

"What did you do last time?" Irvine asked Squall. 

The brunette was crouching down next to the head of the angel. Slowly, he reached down and touched the sapphire on the angel's forehead. Immediately, they heard a grinding sound. 

"Shh..." Selphie said, holding her finger to her lips. "What's that...?" 

"It sounds like...gears..." Rinoa mumbled. Everyone was stepping back from the seal as Squall stood there and awaited the action to happen. 

Suddenly, there was a cracking sound. Squall looked down and his eye's flew open. The marble beneath him was no longer there as it tumbled down into dark abyss. "Holy-" 

"Squall!" Rinoa cried out. Without a second thought, she jumped after him reaching for him. 

"Rinoa, no!" Squall shouted in vain. It was too late. 

"Rinoa! Squall!" voices screamed above them. Quistis sent her whip down, but barely brushed Squall's extended hand. "No!" 

"Rinoa!" Squall shouted as he fell. The darkness was swallowing him up. 

"Squall!" A hand touched his and he grabbed on to it, pulling her forward. He held her tightly against him with both arms as they fell. He was looking up. 

"Are you crazy!?" he gasped as wind rushed past them. Above them the group was getting farther and farther away as the light became a small hole in the endless darkness. 

Rinoa clung on to him. "Don't leave me..." she whispered. Squall's eyes went wide as suddenly, his back slammed hard into something. 

Water surrounded their bodies as the sounds of yelling above them were suddenly drowned out. 

* * *

"Shit! We need a flash light! A torch! Anything!" Irvine said. 

"We have to get back to the boat!" Selphie gasped. "We need to get down there!" 

"There should be some rope in the storage room!" Quistis added. "C'mon! We need to get help!" 

"It was half a day's walk to get here!" Irvine exclaimed suddenly. "It'll be dark by the time we get back! We'll never find our way back here!" 

"Then we'll just have to wait until the day time!" Seifer said. He was busying putting together dry leaves and such in a pile. 

"We can't just leave them there over night, Seifer!" Quistis growled. "What if they're hurt!" 

"We can't help them until we get that rope and find a way to get down there!" Seifer snapped. He pulled out a lighter and lit the pile of dried leaves and twigs. "It's too dangerous for us to say here tonight and you know it." 

"But what about Rinoa and Squall...?" Selphie whimpered, nearly in tears. 

"We'll use the burning material as a signal to find our way back," Seifer said. He was gathering more sticks and fallen branches. He looked back up at the group. "We have to get back on the ship before night fall." 

Quistis ran her hand through her hair and closed her eyes. "He's right," she said. "If we stay here...we'll be in more danger." 

"Squall!" Irvine yelled into the hole. "Squall! Rinoa!" 

"GET US OUT OF HERE!" a voice growled. 

Irvine raised an eyebrow. "Well...Squall seems fine." 

"We'll be fine for the night!" Rinoa shouted back. They had obviously heard them. "Just get us out of here!" 

"We'll be back as soon as we can!" Selphie yelled back. "Don't worry! Everything will be fine!" 

"Are you guys okay!?" Quistis shouted. 

"We seem to have landed in a pool of water!" Rinoa said. "It broke our fall!" 

"Are you sure, you'll be okay, Rin!?" Seifer asked. "Don't touch her, Commander Puberty!" 

Rinoa rolled her eyes as she and Squall treaded water. "Just go get a rope or something!" 

"Hey, you know what's ironic," Selphie suddenly piped. "We're going to go back to Angelo, the dog, and say that Rinoa's stuck in a well sort of thing..." 

"Selphie!" 

"We're leaving a fire to keep away the animals!" Quistis shouted. "We'll be back! Just hang on!" 

They listened to their friends run off and Rinoa let out a heavy shy. Squall turned his head. "Let's go over there," he said. "The water's getting shallower if we go this way." 

Rinoa looked over at him and nodded. The small sliver of light was enough to provide some light in the dark cave. She swam behind Squall until her feet touched sand. She stood up and began to drag herself on to the shore with Squall right in front of her looking around. 

"Now what?" she said as she looked around as well. 

"We need some sort of light..." Squall said. He narrowed his eyes as he saw a wall. "With any luck this is similar to the cave on the other island." 

Rinoa nodded and watched as he put his hands up against the wall and felt around. She didn't catch the smile on his face as he realized that the same wet and sticky material was on the wall. He began to pat his jacket sleeve. 

"What are you looking for?" she asked. 

"A lighter...crap..." Squall grumbled. 

Rinoa tilted her head. "Are you going to start a fire?" 

"Something like that," Squall said. "There is this sticky substance on the wall that's flammable...it's what lit up the wall last time." 

"Stand back," Rinoa said. Squall looked up. "Stand back..." she urged. Squall took on step back and Rinoa raised her hand. A ball of fire collected and she shot it out. 

Squall's eyes went wide as the fire spell hit the wall and ignited it, sending a flame up the wall and into more of those metal gutters. "Thanks..." he mumbled. 

Rinoa took a step forward as she saw the gutters light up and lead deeper into the cave. "Wow!" she gasped. She smiled. "Can we go in? Is it safe?" 

"It should be," Squall nodded. He held his gun blade in front of him as he stepped in front of Rinoa. He extended his hand to her and looked back. "Stay close to me." 

Rinoa looked up at him and smiled softly. She nodded and took his hand. Quietly, Squall lead her through the narrow passage. The walls didn't have the images painted on them as Squall had seen in the other cave. Instead, they were blank. 

Rinoa, however, kept looking around. "Do you know where it leads?" 

"It should lead to the last cave," Squall explained. "That's where the treasure should be." 

"What kind of treasure?" 

"Probably the same as the other," Squall shrugged. "Gold, silver... precious stones..." 

"You're sending someone to go back for those, right?" Rinoa asked. Squall nodded. 

"We're going to bring back what's in here...or as much as we can bring," Squall explained. "This treasure is supposed to be bigger. It's supposed to be the only true treasure worthy of the princess." 

Rinoa giggled. "That's kind of romantic." 

Squall said nothing. Rinoa still held his hand and smiled to herself as he lead her down the hall. Just like before, they ended up at a heavy gate. Squall saw the key hole and let go of Rinoa's hand. She looked at him questioningly as he pulled out a key from his jacket. 

He looked over at her. "Rinoa..." he said. "This is supposed to be the key to the treasure...the key to...everything." 

The young woman merely nodded and smiled. "I see," she said. "So... after this...it's it, then..." He nodded. He put the key in the key hole. "Squall!" she said suddenly. He turned around. 

"Yes?" he asked, giving her a questioning look. 

Rinoa swallowed. She reached up and kissed him softly, sensually, on the lips. Her eyes closed as his warm lips replied. "No matter what happens..." she said as they parted. Her eyes looked away from him. "I..." 

Squall looked at her, unsure of what to do. "Rinoa..." he whispered. 

She pasted a smile on her face and looked back up at him. "Open the door, silly!" she piped. "Can't stand here all night, can we?" 

Her eyes had a pained look in them as Squall nodded slowly. He reached over and turned the key. The sound of a lock turning and unlocking the door sounded and both of them realized they had been holding their breath. 

Squall looked back and Rinoa reluctantly. He opened the door. 

* * *

"WHAT!?" Fujin gasped, her eye wide open with shock as the group brought themselves on deck of the _Siren_. 

"We have to go back for them tomorrow with some rope," Irvine sighed. "They're okay though. They landed in some water and that broke their fall." 

"Okay?" Fujin asked. 

Selphie nodded. "She'll be fine. Squall's with her!" she smiled brightly. Fujin nodded. 

"I'll go look for that rope right now, ya know..." Raijin said. 

"We can't do anything until tomorrow," Quistis sighed. "I think that they're actually safer on that island underground than they are above it." 

"Hey, Quisty..." Selphie said as she followed the blond into the captain's cabin. "Do you think that they found the treasure yet?" 

Quistis paused and shrugged. "It's always a possibility...why?" 

Selphie looked down. "I...I kind of don't want them to..." 

Quistis raised an eyebrow. "Why is that?" 

Selphie took a deep breath and raised her green eyes to meet Quistis' blue ones. "If Squall doesn't get the treasure...that means that he can't get married, doesn't it?" 

Quistis' eyes softened, knowing where the other girl's train of thought was going. "Selphie..." Quistis began. "There are no promises...even if he doesn't find the treasure." 

Selphie nodded. "I don't know..." she sighed. "But just watching them... it's like they were made for each other. I know they agreed to just be 'friends'...but still..." 

"I have a feeling that when they come out of that hole tomorrow," Quistis stated. "Squall will have decided on what to do for sure. Whether or not they found the treasure." 

* * *

Squall's eyes were wide with confusion as he looked at the massive cavern before him. It's high domed ceiling and wide floors only served to make what it carried stand out. And what it carried was nothing. 

"I...I don't understand..." Squall mumbled. "It's EMPTY. Has someone gotten here before us?" 

Rinoa was standing at the door way, watching him walk around the room. Squall seemed to be examining everything. The walls, the floor. That was basically it. 

As she watched him, she narrowed her eyes. "What did it say was supposed to be in here again?" 

"The treasure." 

"The exact words." Rinoa stated. 

Squall sighed and stood in the middle of the room. He looked over at her. "The first cavern held the treasure of the first ten years of searching. Each year he returned to Garnet and saw Sara, but every time he did, he realized that he had not yet attained enough wealth worthy of her. So he returned to his search. This cavern was supposed to hold the final and greatest treasure. The only treasure worthy enough for the Princess Sara." 

Rinoa let his words sink in. Her pink lips began to curl into a smile. "Hahaha!!" She began to laugh as she leaned against the door way. 

"Rinoa?" Squall asked. He looked confused. "Now what?" he sighed. 

"Squall! It's so simple!" Rinoa laughed. She shook her head as she looked up. "Hyne, I can't believe it!" 

"Believe WHAT?" Squall grumbled. "That it's EMPTY!?" 

"That I'm actually RIGHT!" Rinoa said. She turned to look at him. "Squall... if you loved someone with all your heart," she said with a tearful smile. "And you were willing to anything of them...what do you think would be worthy of them?" 

"I don't know!" Squall shrugged. "Gold? Silver? Jewels?" 

"If you really loved them?" Rinoa urged. 

Squall looked at Rinoa and paused. Suddenly the revelation hit him as he looked at her. She was standing at the door way, her body silhouetted against the fire from lit the hall way. She was smiling an angelic smile, warm and inviting. "Hyne..." he whispered. Rinoa realized he understood. "Nothing...would ever be worthy...of you..." 

Rinoa didn't hear the last two words, but nodded. "He realized after ten years of searching that nothing would ever be worthy of Sara. She was beyond anything material he could ever attain," she told him. "Because he loved her." 

Squall stared at her. "It was right in front of me the whole time..." he mumbled quietly. 

Rinoa nodded. "Actually, Squall..." she said. "If I was Sara, theoretically speaking. And you were Leon...and we were standing right here where we are right now...I believe that there was ONE thing that was worthy of Sara." 

"What?" Squall asked, his mind running to try to figure it out. 

Rinoa smiled. "The only thing in the room," she said, raising her arms. "Leon." 

* * *

"So did you find the treasure!?" Zell said as he helped pull Squall out of the hole. Rinoa was being wrapped in a warm blanket by Quistis and Selphie to their left. 

"Yes, I found the treasure," Squall said as he was helped up. Irvine handed him a blanket. "Or rather, the treasure room. It was empty." 

"WHAT!?" everyone turned to look at him. Rinoa giggled slightly. 

"What do you MEAN it was empty!?" Selphie gasped. "Are you sure!?" 

"Ask Rinoa," Squall shrugged. "We found the chamber and it was empty." 

"I don't understand..." Quistis mumbled. "So there is nothing there? At all?" 

"I can't believe this," Seifer grumbled. "All this trouble for NOTHING." 

Rinoa giggled some more and Squall smirked. "Couldn't have said it better myself." 

"So now what?" Irvine said. "We're just going to return to Esthar empty handed?" 

"There is still the treasure back on the Island Closest to Hell," Squall reminded him. "I'll have someone pick it up." 

"Think they'll need our help?" Zell asked. 

"I have a detailed map drawn out," Squall said. "Don't worry about it." 

"So that's it then?" Selphie piped, trying to conceal her disappointment. "We're dropping you off at Esthar? And part ways?" 

Irvine frowned and walked over to her. "Now, Selphie...you know that you're always welcomed to come by...I have a bed with your name on it waiting for you at my place." 

"Oh, Irvy..." Selphie smiled warmly. Irvine put his arm around her and pulled her into a hug as they headed back down towards the beach where Raijin and Fujin were waiting with Angelo. 

"Hey..." Zell mumbled as the group walked through the thick brush. "Irvine, don't you live in a one bedroom?" 

"Bingo." Irvine smirked. 

"Rinoa," Squall said. She turned around and smiled. He looked at her. "No matter what?" 

She nodded and smiled. "Always," she said with a warm smile. "I promise." 


	9. Return to Earth

**Thief's Treasure**  
_Chapter Nine: Return to Earth_  
By PasifiKStaR

Author's Note: LEMON ALERT! LEMON ALERT!! SquallxRinoa below! You have been warned!!

*All Standard Disclaimers Apply - I do not own Final Fantasy or it's characters. 

* * *

_ "I can't believe it..." Squall whispered. He sat down in the center of the room tiredly. "It makes so much sense...but..." _

Rinoa nodded. "Anything that has to do with love never makes sense," Rinoa said. She slowly walked into the room, looking around as she did so. "I can't believe he had this built for nothing..." 

"Literally..." Squall sighed. He ran his hand through his hair as Rinoa stood in front of him. She looked down and smiled sadly. 

"I'm sorry, Squall..." she sighed. "I wish I could help." 

Squall shook his head. "Don't worry about it." he mumbled. 

"You know," Rinoa said quietly. "I kind of wonder why exactly Leon said that both ships were caught in a storm and were ship wreaked. After seeing this, it's obvious that it was planned." 

Squall nodded. "The end of the scroll from the other cavern said that he prayed that the people who found it did so for love..." 

Rinoa looked slightly surprised. "I guess only people in love can really appreciate it's meaning." 

"Do you appreciate it?" Squall said. Rinoa looked over at him. She blushed slightly and nodded. A simple question with a large meaning. Rinoa nodded. 

"Of course I do." 

Squall patted the ground next to him. "Have a seat," he sighed. "It'll be a while before they get back." 

Rinoa did as she was told and sat down next to him. "I hope they make it back all right..." 

"I'm sure they will," he assured her. Moments of silence passed between them as they sat there. Occasionally, Rinoa would look over at him. Squall looked straight ahead, out the door. "I found something in the first cavern." 

"What?" Rinoa asked quickly, desperate for a conversation. 

"It probably fell from the cushion the key was on since it was right next to the chest..." he mumbled. Rinoa raised an eyebrow in question. 

"You lost me..." she said, shaking her head in confusion. 

Squall turned to look at her. "When we get back to Esthar...I might never see you again," Squall stated. Rinoa's eyebrows furrowed as her smiled turned into a frown. "I know we said that we'd just be friends, but...I can't see you as just a friend." 

Rinoa's face suddenly filled with sadness as she looked down at the ground. "I see..." 

"You'll always be more than that to me," Squall admitted. Rinoa's head shot up and looked at him in shock. He was digging in the pocket of his pants and pulled out something. "I found this..." 

"Hyne, Squall!" Rinoa gasped as she looked over the thing in his hands. Between his fingers was a platinum ring with a large stone framed by two smaller ones. A total of THREE diamonds. Her mouth dropped. "That thing's gorgeous!" 

Squall glanced over at her. Without another word, he reached out and took her hand. Rinoa's eyes were wide as he lifted her left hand up and slipped the ring on to her ring finger. "I thought so..." he whispered. "Perfect fit. It was made for you." 

She swallowed hard, unsure of what to say or even do as he held her hand and studied how the ring looked on it. "Squall?" she managed to gasp out. 

He looked up at her and offered a soft smile. "No matter what happens, Rinoa...I'll love you." 

"Is that promise?" Rinoa whispered quietly. 

He nodded. "No matter what...always," he told her. He leaned forward. "I promise." And kissed her. 

* * *

Rinoa smiled as she turned on her bed and tried to bury herself deeper into it's warmth. She loved that dream. Or rather, that flash back to their night in the cave. When she fell asleep in his strong arms. She couldn't remember when she had a better night's sleep. 

She blinked and looked around her cabin. Angelo was sleeping at the foot of her bed, curled into a ball. Next to her, Squally-poo was sitting, guarding her. She smiled as she reached up and hugged the massive stuffed animal. As she squeezed it, someone entered her room. 

"I'm starting to think that you love that thing more than me." an amused voice stated. Her brown eyes flew open as she let go of Squally-poo and looked over to the door. Squall was standing there, wearing a white shirt, not tucked, and leather pants with his belts hanging over his hips. 

*I swear, those belts are eye catching...* she thought to herself. 

Squall whistled to wake up Angelo. The dog was going to be fed. Rinoa was still looking at him as the dog scrambled up from the bed. He sighed. "Rinoa, stop staring at my crotch." he smirked. 

Immediately, the young woman turned deep red as she shook her head from side to side. Her blanket fell to her waist and Squall immediately diverted his eyes. "I am NOT staring at your CROTCH," she stated. "I just think that you have nice belts." 

"I've never heard it put THAT way before." 

Rinoa raised and eyebrow. "You're one to talk...I suppose you're just noticing the pattern on my night gown?" 

"I didn't notice the little white flowers before." 

"Squall!" Rinoa growled as she brought her arms over her chest. She frowned and Squall smiled. 

"Did you have a good night's sleep?" he asked. She nodded with a smile. "All right...um..." he rubbed the back of his neck. "Fujin said that we're going to arrive at the port soon." 

Rinoa's smile faded. "Oh..." she mumbled. *Four days have gone by already...?* "I see..." 

"Rinoa..." Squall began. He seemed to be having a lot of trouble suddenly. 

"Why don't we spend the day at the port?" Rinoa suggested warmly, trying to ease the situation. "And then have a big farewell dinner? All of us." 

"Oh...I suppose..." 

"I mean...you guys aren't in that much of a rush, are you?" Rinoa asked, concerned. 

"No...that's fine." he mumbled. 

"Good!" Rinoa smiled. "It'll give us a chance to hang out one last time!" 

Squall nodded and closed the door. *I don't see how she can be so damn happy...* 

Rinoa fell back in bed and closed her eyes. Tears were falling from the corners of her eyes. It was happening. He was leaving her...and she couldn't stop him. 

* * *

The sun was shining, the gulls were singing, and the _Siren_ pulled up to the dock. Seifer and Raijin immediately got to work on securing themselves a space and tying the ship up for the day. 

Selphie was unlocking the side of the boat and getting Irvine to help her put the plank down. "I can't believe we're back already..." Irvine said as he helped her slide the wooden plank down. 

Selphie nodded. "I'm going to miss you..." she whimpered with a sad look on her face. Irvine smiled and pulled her into a hug. 

"Hey...it's not like I'm disappearing..." Irvine said. "We still have a day... let's make the most of it." 

Selphie nodded as Irvine kissed the top of her head. "Okay..." 

"Don't be so down, Selphie," he said with a warm smile. "I'll let you wear my hat." 

Selphie giggle and nodded. "I'll miss your hat, too." 

"Hyne, get a room..." Seifer grumbled as he walked past them to go down the plank. "Damn teenagers..." 

Quistis was coming out from below deck. "Is Rinoa up yet?" she asked as she looked around. 

"I'm up!" a voice said from the captain's cabinet. Rinoa walked out, clad in her usual black and light blue out fit. "Oh! Before anyone leaves to go walk around, we're going to have one last dinner together as a group tonight! On me!" 

"Aw, Rin, you don't have to!" Irvine assured her. "You guys have done enough already." 

"No, I want to!" Rinoa said. "All of us!" She looked over at Selphie. "Selphie, what's the name of that restaurant you like so much-" 

"Zidane's Sea Cuisine!" Selphie cut her off energetically. "YES!! Seafood buffet, here I come!" 

Irvine chuckled as Zell asked if there were any hot dogs. "Well, there is a part with BBQ stuff..." Selphie said, thinking about it. "So there should be a hot dogs." 

"So whose paying?" Seifer asked has he walked back on to the deck. He had gone to tie the ship to the pier itself. 

"I am, cheapskate!" Rinoa stuck her tongue out at Seifer. "Quisty, what did you want to tell me?" 

"Hmm? Oh," Quistis just raised a map. "I just wanted to know where we should go next. I want to plot the course ahead of time." 

Rinoa nodded. "I'll talk to you about it after dinner." Rinoa said. Quistis nodded. 

"All right, if that's all," Irvine said. "I'm taking Selphie out! We'll see you guys there!" 

* * *

"Whoo!! Yeah!!" Selphie grabbed Irvine's hand as he swung her around the dance floor. Irvine was laughing as he watched Selphie dance circles around him. Music from the dance floor filled the rest of the buffet style restaurant where the group had congregated to eat dinner. 

Against the brightly lit dance floor, the dimmer lit areas of tables had people sitting around them, talking animatedly with each other. To one corner, around a long rectangular table, was the group's table. 

Seifer was busy trying to crack some crab legs. Every so often, Quistis, who was sitting next to him, would wipe her face as crab juice would fly on her. Across from them, Rinoa was looking over at the dance floor where Irvine and Selphie were dancing and smiling brightly as she moved her upper body to the music. 

Next to her, Zell was putting several different condiments on the hotdogs he had brought over from the buffet. To her other side, Squall was quietly eating clam chowder. To Seifer's right side, Raijin and Fujin were eating shrimp and muscles. 

The pieces of sushi on Rinoa's plate had all but vanished as she listened to the music. Selphie and Irvine were among a dozen or so other couples dancing to the foot tapping music. "I want to dance, too!" Rinoa frowned finally as the song died down. 

"So why don't you go dance?" Quistis asked as she delicately picked up a piece of salmon roll. 

"No one's going to dance with me!" Rinoa said. "I don't want to go alone...I'll look like a loser." 

"Selphie looks like she's having a seizure, but that's not stopping her." Seifer commented as he finally managed to crack the crab leg. He grinned as the crab meat was exposed. 

Rinoa frowned. "She's not having a seizure," she sighed. "She's just...really happy..." 

"Uh-huh..." Seifer trailed off as he ate the crab and reached for another crab leg on his plate. 

Zell let put a slight burp as he finished his hot dog and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry!" he smiled. 

"You're excused," Rinoa said. She looked over at Squall. "Um...Squall-" 

"I'm going to get more chowder." he stated coldly. He stood up, bringing his bowl with him. There was no way he was going to go up there. 

Rinoa frowned. Quistis shook her head. Seifer raised an eyebrow as he was in the middle of cracking yet another crab leg. "Why is he taking his bowl? You just get another one when you're there." 

"Why won't anyone DANCE with me!?" Rinoa grumbled. "Am I ugly!?" 

Seifer opened his mouth and Quistis shot him a glare. He immediately looked back down at his food. "I'll dance with you, Rin!" Zell said with a bright smile. 

Rinoa smiled warmly. "That's nice, Zell...but you just finished eating...are you sure?" 

"Positive!" Zell assured her. He stood up and offered his hand. Rinoa happily took it and they scurried over to the dance floor. 

Quistis wiped her face once more. "Seifer, will you PLEASE watch where you crack those things?" she sighed. "You're getting it all over my face." 

"Oh, I'm sorry," Seifer frowned with fawned regret. "Here, let me move." He then held his hand and the crab claw over Quistis' plate. 

Quistis frowned. "Seifer!" She slapped his arm and pushed him further away from her. 

Seifer merely smiled coyly. "Quisty...not here...save for the bedroom." 

Quistis glared at him and pointed her own crab leg crusher at Seifer. "One more word from you and I'm going to use this on your head. Do you understand me?" 

"Where did Rinoa go?" Quistis looked up and saw Squall sitting down at his chair, next to Rinoa's and looked around. 

"She's dancing." Quistis said. She pointed over to the dance floor, where Rinoa was dancing in front of Zell, big beaming smiles on their faces as they were caught up in the energy of the other dances. 

Squall frowned. *Why is Zell dancing with Rinoa?* 

Quistis smiled slightly as she noticed Squall's displeasure. "Rinoa wanted to dance so Zell said he'd dance with her," Quistis shrugged, fully aware that Squall was not happy. "They seem to be having a lot of fun, don't they?" 

Zell took Rinoa's hand and turned in her a circle. "Rin's an accomplished ballet dancer, ya know." Raijin said. 

Fujin nodded, also noticing the sudden conspiracy against Squall, and deciding to join in. "Dance champion." 

"That's right!" Quistis stated, as if suddenly remembering. "Rinoa's been dancing since she was a child. Mostly classical styles, though...until that trip to Timber!" 

The group, aside from Squall, all began to snicker and Squall looked over at them. Against what he knew would disturb him, he relented and asked. "What happened at Timber?" 

"We were eating dinner and the entertainment were these belly dancers," Seifer grinned. He stopped eating for a moment and looked over at Quistis, who was suddenly blushing. "The girls were so amazed, they spent a week there learning. Even Fujin." 

"Good exercise!" Fujin retorted defensively as she struggled to keep the blush from her face. 

"That's always your excuse, ya know!" Raijin chuckled. Fujin kicked him under the table. 

Squall suddenly had the image of Rinoa learning to belly dance in his head and quickly tried to shake it out. He turned to look back at the dance floor. His eyes went large as he realized both Selphie and Rinoa had their arms raised and hips moving from side to side in a fluid, obviously skilled motion. 

Irvine was smiling appreciatively as Zell, for some reason, was attempting to follow their motions. Irvine looked over at Zell and shook his head. "Zell, you have to be more relaxed," Rinoa was saying. "It takes a while to learn." 

"That's so cool!" Zell said. "Do guys do this too?" 

"Uh...no." Immediately, Zell stopped and blushed, although Selphie and Rinoa both grabbed on to him and dragged him deeper into the dancing circle. 

"Squall," a voice cut through the brunette's thoughts and he looked up. Quistis was looking at him questioningly. "Your chowder's getting cold." 

His blue eyes dropped to his bowl and he started eating again. Seifer snorted. "Slow dance!" Fujin said suddenly as the loud, up beat music died down. The DJ in the corner began to play a slow song and Quistis tugged at Seifer's arm. 

He grumbled and pulled away. "Seifer!" she hissed with narrowed eyes. "Hyne, you never do anything romantic!" 

Grumbling even more, he dropped what he was doing and wiped his hands. "Fine, but if you smell like crab after this, don't come bitching to me." 

Fujin and Raijin had already stood up and left Squall alone at their table to dance. The brunette sat there, looking around and noticing how suddenly alone he was. *Thanks a lot, guys...* he thought to himself. 

"Hey, Squall?" a voice said behind him. Squall casually looked over his shoulder. "You want to dance with Rin?" Zell asked, looking a bit green. "I think..." 

Rinoa was right behind him, a concerned look on her face as she pointed to their left. "Zell! Just go to the restroom before you puke all over the people!" Rinoa gasped. She put her hands on his shoulders and turned him in the direction of the restroom. 

Zell covered his mouth and made a mad dash to the restroom. Squall watched, unsure of what to do as Zell ran away from them. Rinoa took a seat next to Squall and sighed. "What's wrong with him?" 

"I think he ate too much and all that spinning and dancing we were doing got the best of him," Rinoa sighed as she shook her head. "Poor, Zell...he was just trying to be nice." 

"Whatever..." Squall shrugged. Rinoa frowned. 

"Can't you at least show a little compassion for your friend?" she said as she looked at him intently. "You've been such a hermit since we got here...all you've been doing is sitting and eating." 

"Well, it IS dinner," Squall stated. Rinoa turned her head away, a sad look on her face. *Oh, way to go, Romeo! Confess your love to her and then treat her like crap...Amazing how she hasn't given up on you!* his mind scolded. Squall rolled his eyes and put his spoon down. "Let's get out of here." 

Rinoa turned and looked at him with surprise written all over her face. "What?" she asked, her eyes wide. 

"Let's go," Squall insisted. "Are you done eating?" 

"Well...yeah, but-" 

"Let's go," Squall said. He looked around quickly and stood up. "While they're busy." 

Rinoa caught the rare mischievous look in his eyes and smiled. "Let's go!" she agreed. She took his hand and stood up. They quickly wove through the tables and out the door. As they rushed outside, they made a beeline down the street. 

Squall put his arm around Rinoa's shoulder as he casually looked back to make sure that no one was following them. Rinoa leaned against him and he smiled slightly. "I thought you wouldn't come with me." 

Rinoa giggled. "Of course I would!" she smiled. A slight look of worry crossed her face. "But...I think I'm forgetting something..." she trailed off and Squall looked at her, concerned, but he shook her head and smiled. "Nah! It's just me!" 

Back at the restaurant, Seifer looked around. "Where the hell is she?" 

Selphie was returning from the ladies room and was shaking her head. "She's not in the restroom!" she sighed as she sat down next to Irvine. She leaned forward. "But that lady in two tables from us is wearing a wing..." she whispered with a wink. 

Quistis ran her hand down her face. "This can't be happening...Where did Rinoa and Squall go?" 

"I don't care where they WENT," Seifer grumbled. "Whose going to PAY for all of this!?" 

Quistis' head shot up and looked at Seifer with large blue eyes. "I thought you brought money..." 

"Money?" Seifer gasped, looking at her as if she were crazy. "Quistis, I HAVE NO MONEY. Raijin?" 

"I didn't bring any, ya know." 

"Fujin?" 

The white haired woman shook her head sadly. "Negative..." 

Quistis looked across from her. "Selphie?" 

Selphie shook her head. "I spent my last gil on cotton candy...Irvine?" 

The cowboy also shook his head. "I thought Rinoa was going to pay so I spent MY last gil on some beer earlier." 

"Hyne...we have NO money?" Quistis gasped. "NONE at all!?" 

Irvine let out a deep breath. "Looks like I'll have to go to the emergency funds..." he said. He looked up just as a blond with a tattoo reached the table. 

"Hey, guys!" Zell smiled brightly. "Where are Squall and Rinoa?" 

Everyone turned to Irvine. Irvine smiled brightly. "Hey, Zell..." 

* * *

Rinoa was holding Squall's hand as they walked through the port town. They were heading deeper into the town, farther from the water's edge. The inner part of the town was lined with small boutiques and little bistros. 

As they walked, Rinoa occasionally stopped and looked through the glass windows at the clothes on the mannequins. Squall was content just to watch her. As they neared the center of the town, the streets began to have white paper lanterns hanging from the buildings, adding light in addition to the light from the street lamps. 

They glowed in the darkness as festivities were underway. "Squall! Look!" she tugged on his hand and pointed to the town square. Squall turned and frowned the moment he laid eyes on the couples dancing around the star shaped fountain in the center of the town. 

"Uh...no..." Squall began. "I really can't-" 

"Please, Squall?" Rinoa pleaded, turning her large brown eyes at him. "Just once?" 

He looked from Rinoa to the dancing couples and nodded reluctantly. "Just to warn you," he stated seriously as Rinoa's hand clamped on his wrist and dragged him forward. "I haven't danced since I was a child!" 

"It's okay, Squall," she assured him as they entered the group of people dancing. "It's not formal or anything." She turned around and smiled at him warmly. 

Squall let out a heavy sigh as he casually fell into step with Rinoa, proving he knew more than he let on. Occasionally, he slipped up, but with everyone around him dancing casually, it wasn't obvious. Rinoa seemed to be having a good time. 

While holding her hand, she was turning in his arms. She pulled out from him and before being pulled back in and being crushed up against his chest. Squall caught the blush on her cheeks and pressed his head against hers. *Hyne, I don't want this song to end...* 

"Squall..." a quiet voice whispered. He looked down at her and saw her chocolate brown eyes diverted slightly. "Tonight..." she trailed off. She lifted her head look up at him as they stood by the star shaped fountain. The music drowned their words out from the other dancers. Her hands tightened around his. "I don't want ANY regrets tonight." 

Squall stared at her, unsure of what to say or do. Moments passed. "I... I'm not sure..." 

"I want to spend tonight with you," she asserted softly. "Not just like back at the gave. I want more than that. Just for tonight, Squall," she told him intently. "Just for tonight, I want to have no regrets." 

His hand gently rose and swept her dark bangs from her pale face. "Rinoa... are you sure?" 

"No matter what," Rinoa repeated. "I'll always love you." 

Squall wrapped his arms tighter around her and nodded slowly. "Even if it's just for tonight...just one night," Squall said. "I'll love you forever." 

* * *

The room was dark and a cool ocean breeze swept in through the eastern window. It swayed the soft gauzy white curtains that lined it as he sat on the bed, wearing only a heavy chain pendent and unbuttoned leather pants. His back leaned against the head board of the bed, against the soft pillows he would later place her head on as he nervously waited for her to come out of the restroom. The door opened and he looked up. 

Dark hair clashed against pale skin as she stepped out from behind the door dressed in a short light blue night gown. Fidgeting slightly, she walked over to his side of the bed, flushing the entire time. 

Squall looked up at her and smiled intently as his hands rose and took her smaller ones in them. "You look beautiful," he told her breathy. "You always do." 

Rinoa blushed. "Thank you." Squall positioned her so her back was tilted away from him and gently pulled her down into the bed, over his lap. She giggled slightly as she slowly was lowered on to the bed. He was being extremely careful, she realized. He held his body above her so that his pendant hung down and rested on her soft skin like cold ice. 

He freed his left hand from her grasp and stroked her hair away from her face. She looked like she was going to cry. "You're not going to hurt me," Squall assured her, knowing that was what she was terrified about. "I'm not going to hurt you." 

She nodded. "I know." She raised her hands to go through his thick brown hair and smiled slightly. Squall lowered his head and gently kissed her on the lips. Her close eyes as she felt his hands on the sides of her body, slowly moving upwards. 

He lifted his lips off of her soft pink ones every so often to take a breath, but continued his soft, gentle caresses. His body craned over hers, taking pains not to crush her under his weight as he felt her bare leg rising and rubbing against his. 

*Suddenly, these pants feel so confining...* he thought to himself as her hands trailed down the muscles that rippled on his back. He could feel his heart beating against hers as her breath quickened slightly. He took a deep breath and allowed his hands to rest on her shoulders. 

He placed his fingers under the thin, silken straps of her night gown and began to move them over her creamy shoulders. As he lifted his head to look down and make sure he wasn't hurting her, Rinoa's lips trailed down his angular jaw line, down to his chin, and directly over his throat, right above his Adam's apple. 

His rough hands went down along with the straps, rolling the thin piece of cloth off her shoulders, arms, and chest. It then rested around her waist. Reluctantly, Squall laid his upper body against hers, making sure to put most of his weight on his right hand as his left hand began to make small circles on her abdomen. 

Her lips moved down to kiss him between his clavicles as her nervously shaking hands slid down his lean body to his hips. Her hands daringly dipped under his the hem of his pants to caress the smooth skin beneath and Squall's head dropped against her shoulder. 

She let out a moan as warm lips pressed against her shoulders. "Take this off..." she whispered in his ear as she tugged on his pants. 

Squall swallowed nervously and nodded. He turned over on his back and began to shrug his pants off. He could feel his face burning as Rinoa watched with intensity as he took his pants off and tossed them on the floor. She raised an eyebrow questioningly. "Do you usually not wear any...um... underneath?" 

"Let's not get into that," he sighed as he rolled back on top of her and kissed her. "Let's get this off of you..." With the help of Rinoa's nimble fingers, he managed to get the remainder of her nightgown off her body and tossed them on to the ground. He paused for a moment to take her all in before leaning over her once more and kissing her. 

She closed her eyes tightly as heated flesh seared against hers. She could feel his hands all over her body, exploring all her curves in the most loving way he could. The scent of his body was somehow calming all the anxiety she had been hiding away. Her arms wrapped around his body, under his arms as he slowly stroked her. 

Regardless of the positive things he was hearing escape her mouth, he was still reluctant. It was fine so far, but there was still the danger of Rinoa losing herself momentarily to her powers. He didn't even realize he had stopped completely until Rinoa's confused voice cut through his thoughts. "Squall?" she asked quietly. "Don't stop..." 

He mentally shook himself and looked back down at her, offering his most intent smile. "I'm sorry," he whispered. He lowered her head against hers and gave her a long, drawn out kiss. "I think you're ready..." 

Rinoa was suddenly elated. Her eyes closed as a placid smile crossed her lips. She nodded. His hands gently ran down the sides of her body once more and down her legs. He paid close attention to any details that might show a sign of Rinoa lapsing into another mind set. 

Rinoa herself was praying. *Hyne,* she thought desperately. *I love him... please, let us just enjoy this moment. Please...* 

She felt him against her and opened her tearful eyes. Squall immediately froze. "Rinoa?" he asked nervously. 

She shook her head. "I'm just happy..." she whispered truthfully. 

He took a deep breath and pressed himself down into her. Her eyes went wide as she bit her lip. She felt it burning inside of her and felt a quick, painful sting. She let out a yelp and Squall put his head against hers. "It's all right..." he whispered quietly. "It's me...it'll be fine..." 

*It's Squall...* her mind repeated over and over as he rose and fell above over her in a cool, fluid motion. *It's just Squall...he loves you...* 

She looked up at him and found his head buried in the pillow right next to her head. She heard his ragged breathing as his lips caressed her skin. Her legs rose and ran along side of his, making Squall lift his head off the pillow and give off a quick breath. Her hands went around his shoulders and played with his hair as she pulled him down against her. 

His motions began to quicken as his kisses became more heated. She felt a heat building up inside of her and her fingers grasped the bed sheets on either side of her body. Shallow breaths escaped her lips as Squall let out a groan. Her eyes shot open and she screamed. 

* * *

"I'll KILL THEM!" Seifer growled angrily as he stormed out of Zidane's Sea Cuisine. "How DARE they leave us with the bill!? Especially when she said that she'd pay!" 

"Seifer, calm down," Selphie said. "It's not like YOU were the one that paid," She looked over at the shorter blond male. "Thanks again, Zell. You really bailed us out." 

"Don't THANK him," Seifer hissed. "He's the one that ate most of the food anyway." 

"Hey!" Zell frowned. "You're lucky I even brought money with me!" 

"He's right, Seifer," Quistis stated. "Stop complaining." 

"I wonder were they went..." Selphie mumbled. "Zell, are you sure they didn't tell you?" 

He shook his head. "Nope. I went to the bathroom and when I came back, they were missing." 

"That's not like Rinoa..." Quistis mumbled. 

"It's not like Squall, either," Irvine said. Suddenly, a sly, lopsided grin crossed his face. "Unless..."

"Unless...?" Selphie questioned. 

"Unless they wanted to have some alone time," Irvine grinned. "In which case they left us on purpose to be alone..." 

"No, Rinoa would NOT do that!" Seifer growled. "She wouldn't go through with something like that...with HIM." 

"Loves him," Fujin said as they all headed back to the boat. "A lot." 

"She has a point, ya know," Raijin said. "Even I've noticed it, ya know." 

"Man, I hope he gets back in time," Irvine said. He looked at his watch. "We're supposed to leave from the train station early tomorrow morning. You did tell him, right, Zell?" 

"Yeah, I told him and gave him his ticket," Zell said. "I'm sure he'll remember." 

* * *

Rinoa's limp, sleeping body was on top of Squall's. Her head rested on the pillow next to his as one hand held on to his while the other was on the pillow by her head. Even, deep breaths came from her partially opened mouth as a mass of black hair fell around her angelic face. 

Squall stared at the ceiling, deep in thought, as his left hand, his free hand, gently stroked Rinoa's hair. The blanket was raised to Rinoa's back side, keeping her nice and warm. Her breathing gently caressed his neck. 

*She was a virgin...* Squall repeated to himself. *She doesn't remember what exactly happened...she must've killed him before he could actually rape her...* His eyes went down to look at her sleeping face and kissed the top of her head. *Oh, Hyne, Rinoa...* 

The white sheets had been stained with virgin blood from the night before, a testament to Rinoa's truth. Squall hated the man that emotionally scared her even more now. For years, she had been lead to believe she was worthless and dirty. Even if nothing had actually happened. Regardless if Guado had actually raped her or not, didn't matter to Squall. 

What mattered was that he even tried to. He looked at the clock by the bed. He had to get up soon - the train would leave for Esthar. Gently, he moved away from her and laid her body on the soft bed. He got up and slipped his pants back on. 

Heading towards the window, he looked out of it, looking at the view of the sea from the hotel room they were in. The cool sea breeze went over his body and he closed his eyes. The breeze would always remind him of Rinoa's warm embrace. 

He sat on the sill of the window, his back leaning against the window frame as he placed on leg on the floor and one leg on the sill. The wind blew through his hair and he heard the bed rustling. Looking over, he saw Rinoa move her head from side to side, at the sudden realization that he wasn't there. 

"I'm right here, Rin," he told her from the window sill. She rolled over on her back and sat up slightly. She smiled, clutching the white blanket around her body. "Did I wake you? I'm sorry." 

"No, it's okay," she said with a smile as she laid back down and smiled at him. "Did you sleep at all?" 

He chuckled. "You wore me out," he grinned. Rinoa blushed slightly. He looked at her intently, and slowly frowned. "I have to go soon." 

Her face paled, but she nodded understandingly. "The train leaves early...doesn't it?" 

Squall nodded. "Rinoa," he began. She looked back up at him. "Rin... you were never...damaged." 

She looked confused and Squall stood up. He walked over to the bed and sat down at the edge. His hand reached out and gently stroked her hair. "I don't..." 

"Just to back to sleep," he whispered. He laid down next to her and pulled her into his embrace. "I love you." 

* * *

"I didn't think you were going to make it!" Irvine said. He and Zell were standing at the train station, dressed and ready to go with bags around them. 

"Hey, where were you last night!?" a half sleepy Zell exclaimed as he frowned. "I had to pay for dinner thanks you to guys!" 

"We went for a walk." Squall stated simply. 

"Yeah, a walk that took ALL NIGHT," Irvine grinned. "Nice, Squall..." 

"Whatever," the brunette hissed. "Is the train here yet?" 

"It just arrived," Zell said. "We were waiting for you." 

Squall nodded and pulled his jacket tightly around him. "Let's go home." 

* * *

"Rinoa!" Selphie gasped. She dropped the rope she had been holding and ran up tot he brunette who had just arrived on the ship. "Where were you!?" 

"Where were you last night!?" Quistis gasped as she rushed over from where she had been talking to Fujin. "We were worried sick!" 

"You ran out on us!" Seifer accused from the kitchen door way, pointing a ladle at Rinoa. "You left us with the bill!" 

Rinoa looked up at them quietly and smiled. Her eyes were red from crying. Immediately, Selphie and Quistis frowned. "What's wrong?" Selphie asked. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?" 

Rinoa shook her head. "I'm fine," she said with a soft smile. "I'm...I'm not broken..." As Selphie and Quistis stood there, Rinoa walked past them to her room. She closed the door behind her. 

The petite brunette and the tall blond looked at each other. "What...?" 

Rinoa leaned back against the door and smiled. She lifted up the silver chain she had bought that morning on the way back to the ship. She needed something to carry a larger silver ring on since she couldn't wear it. It was now resting around her neck. A thick silver ring with a lion engraved on it rested over her chest. She smiled. 

She had woken up, alone in a bedroom. Flowers were placed by her bed as the ring rested on the pillow next to her head...the pillow where HE had been sleeping. He was gone, but she felt him still there with her. Taking the ring, she played with it in her fingers as she cried. Not because she was sad, but because she was happy. She truly had no regrets. 

There was a knock on her door. "Rinoa...?" Quistis' voice said through the door. "Rin, we need to know where we're going next..." 

Rinoa was now at her desk and opened her mother's diary. She pulled out a silver band that had been pinned inside of it. She raised it up and looked at it. "Head for Galbadia, Quistis!" Rinoa stated. "I'm going home." 

* * *

The doors to the palace opened and a loud voice cut through the evening silence of the massive palace. "We're BACK!!!" Zell shouted. 

From the library, Ellone heard him and threw her book down on the floor as she ran from where she was reading on a couch and out the door. Laguna was feeding Squally-poo his cat food when he heard Zell's shout. He dropped the can, nearly hitting Squally-poo, had Kiros not caught it, and ran off. 

In the foyer, three young men had arrived. Ellone ran to her brother and threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly. "Welcome back, Squall!" As soon as she let him go, she proceeded to hug his two best friends. "I'm so glad to see you all are safe!" 

"SQUALL!!!" a voice came, screaming down the hall. 

Squall paled as his blue eyes turned to the hallway, where Laguna was bounding down with arms wide open. "Don't even TRY to hug me!" Squall growled, stopping Laguna in his tracks. 

"How was the trip?" Kiros asked as he and Ward arrived. 

"It was great," Irvine said. "I've met the woman I'm going to marry!" 

The group went silent as they all looked at him. "The world is ending, isn't it?" Kiros asked seriously. Irvine frowned. 

"Not funny." 

"Did you bring her? Did you? Did you!?" Laguna asked, like a child asking for candy. 

Squall looked at him disdainfully. *Idiot...* "What the hell are you talking about?" he hissed. 

"He means Rinoa." Ellone explained. 

Squall's blue eyes went wide as he stared at them disbelieving. "Rinoa? How do you know about..." He trailed off as he turned to his friends. Irvine looked just as confused, but Zell was avoiding eye contact. "Zell!" 

The blond gave in. "I'm sorry! It was just a letter to tell Ellone how we were doing! I just happened to mention Rinoa and-" 

"She's very pretty, Squall," Ellone tried to cut in. "She seems like a very nice girl." 

Squall narrowed his eyes at the both of them. "How do you know how Rinoa looks like?" 

"Uh...um..." Zell stammered. He looked around the building once more. "You know that picture you two took-" 

Squall looked furious. "You STOLE one of our pictures!?" he growled. He threw his hands in the air. "No wonder I couldn't find one! Zell, you little-" 

"Would help if we gave it back?" Laguna asked timidly. 

"Yes!" Squall roared. "Give it back!" 

Laguna had a sad look on his face as he nodded. He turned around and headed for his study. Squall followed behind him, sending glares over his shoulder occasionally to Zell. They entered the cozy room and Laguna walked over to his desk. He sat on his chair and opened one of the drawers on the desk, removing a small box. 

Squall narrowed his eyes as he looked into the box. *Hyne, what does this man keep... is that floral stationary...?* 

Laguna shuffled through the contents, taking out a framed picture of a beautiful young woman. He picked out the tiny picture of Squall and Rinoa and handed it back to his son. "I kind of wanted to keep it," Laguna explained sheepishly. "She... Rinoa...reminds me of someone..." 

Squall raised an eyebrow as he took the picture. It's edges were worn, meaning it had been looked at quite a few times. His eyes went back to the silver frame. "Like that woman in the picture." he stated rather than asked. 

Laguna nodded slightly with a blush. "Yes..." 

"Of course she does," Squall said as he pocketed the picture. He turned around and headed towards the door where the others were standing. He didn't seem to make any connection or even ask why his father had a picture of Rinoa's mother. He was still angry after being told that a symbol of his precious time with Rinoa had been taken from him without him knowing. "That's Rinoa's mother." he said as he was leaving. 

Laguna's head shot up and looked at Squall's fleeting back. "What!?" 

"Squall, what did you just say?" Kiros asked, stopping Squall from walking out the door. 

The brunette let out a heavy sigh. "The woman in that picture on Laguna's desk," Squall explained. "That's Rinoa's mother. She has a picture of her, her father, and her as a child on her desk on the ship." 

Laguna shook his head as he stood up. He looked pale. "That's impossible...she can't be her mother..." 

Squall rolled his eyes. "Look at the pictures. They look the same." 

"Squall, you don't understand," Kiros said. "Do you KNOW who that woman is?" 

He shook his head and turned to look at Laguna, who was clinging on to his desk to keep him standing. "Her name is Julia Heartilly..." he mumbled. He lifted his eyes to meet his son's. "She died in a storm out at sea almost three decades ago." 


	10. The Treasure

**Thief's Treasure**  
_Chapter Ten: The Treasure_  
By PasifiKStaR

*All Standard Disclaimers Apply - I do not own Final Fantasy or it's characters. 

* * *

_ "Laguna, don't leave me!" _

"Just hold on, Julia!" The man's arms held on to the woman's frail body with all his might as the dark ocean waves crashed into the body of the ship. "It'll be all right!" 

Thunder sounded in the distance as lightning illuminated the storm cloud filled sky. "Watch out!" a voice shouted. The man's eyes flew up to witness the ship's massive mast falling as the sound of it's splintering wood filled his ears. 

Without a second thought, he pushed the slim young woman with the dark hair to the side. "Laguna!" her wails reached his ears as the ship's mast crashed into the planks of the deck. 

"We have serious water damage, Captain Cid!" someone yelled in the back ground. "The mast broke through several levels!" 

The brown haired man at the wheel closed his eyes as his gripped the wooden wheel tightly in his leather gloved hands. "Prepare the life boats!" he shouted as his eyes flew open. "Immediately!! Save as many as you can!" 

"Yes, captain!" Dozens of crew members scampered on to the life boats that lined the edge of the ship. Immediately, the sound of ropes being lowered and pulleys being used after years of neglect sounded through the crashing waves. 

The young woman's eyes filled with terror as the ship began to split from the force of the water. "LAGUNA!!" she cried out tearfully. She searched for him through the thick rain as she crawled higher and higher on to the ship. 

"JULIA!" Laguna shouted. Suddenly, her side of the ship was ripped away from his, bringing her with it. "Get on a life boat!!" The side she was starting to sink. Frozen in fear, she sat there, tears in her eyes. 

He struggled to go forward, but felt hands restraining him. "Don't be stupid!" a voice growled in his ear. "You'll drown if you try to swim to her! 

"Someone has to!" he snapped, trying to push the dark skinned man who was holding him back away. He looked forward. "JULIA!" he yelled in vain. 

Her thick dress was soaked with sea water as she whirled around. Her hair was matted to her head as she turned. Her beautiful brown eyes went wide as she saw the gigantic swell approaching. Her heart stopped as lightning made her terrified face visible. 

Tears slipped down his face as he watched her turn to face him. She smiled slowly and closed her eyes. It seemed that all he could see through the lashing winds and the thick rain and endless darkness was Julia Heartilly. She sat there, a serene look on her face as she lifted her head to look up at him once more. Her rosy lips parted. "Good-bye." 

His eyes shot open as he screamed. "JULIA!!" Thunder drowned at his cries as his face was pounded with salt water. He watched helplessly as he was dragged into a life boat as the wave crashed against her part of the boat, sending broken pieces of wood into galling winds of the storm while it consumed the remains of the boat and the people on the boat. 

He squinted through the blinding storm as he watched the remains of the ship sink beneath the violent waves. He swallowed hard and fell to his knees on the life boat he was taken in. She was gone. In that brief moment, she was ripped away from him. It was all decided with one simple squall. 

* * *

Laguna looked down at his cup of coffee as Ellone wiped a tear form the corner of her eye. Irvine looked absolutely shocked as Zell sniffled. Kiros and Ward stood the corner, silently watching their friend. 

"So many years of trying to bring peace between the two families..." Laguna whispered quietly as he shook his head. "Down the drain...So you'll understand, Squall..." Laguna said, looking up at his son from where he was sitting on his desk, pale and suddenly frail looking. "You'll understand why I didn't want you to go on that ship." 

Squall was silent. All he could do was look at the inch by inch big picture in his hand. "It's still doesn't answer the question..." Irvine said suddenly. Everyone looked over at him as he looked over at Squall. "Are you SURE that's the same woman?" 

Squall nodded. "Even if I didn't see the picture on Rinoa's desk, the assumption wouldn't be difficult to believe. Look at the resemblance." 

"But I don't understand..." Laguna said, shaking his head slowly. "If Julia was alive...why didn't she come forward?" 

"Julia was never one to keep things from Laguna," Kiros added. "I also find it strange that she wouldn't come forward. If she did, that would ease a lot of tension between the families. Hyne knows how she hated that feud." 

Laguna suddenly looked heart broken as tears slipped down from the corners of his eyes. "Why...?" he whispered. "I just...I just don't understand. I thought we loved each other...and..." 

"It's been a tiring night," Kiros said as he looked at the four younger people in the room. "Why don't you kids get some rest...especially you boys. You've traveled all day." 

Irvine and Zell nodded and stood up. Zell tapped Squall's shoulder as he passed and Squall nodded slowly, his eyes still on the picture. "Squall...?" Ellone said softly as she stood over him. "Honey, aren't you going to bed?" 

"I'm not tired yet, sis." he mumbled. 

Ellone nodded. "Good night, then." She patted his shoulder softly as she left the room. The door closed behind her. 

Squall shook his head. "Why didn't she tell me?" he mumbled quietly. "Why didn't she tell me she was a Heartilly? She never mentioned it once." 

"What would you have done, Squall?" Kiros asked wisely. "If she had told you?" 

"I don't know..." the young man whispered. His hands wrapped around the picture and he stood up. "I...I'm going for a walk..." he mumbled. 

The other men nodded understandingly as he walked to the door and closed it behind him. "It seems that the Heartilly women have quite an effect on the Loire men, don't they, Ward?" Kiros asked. Ward nodded. 

"What should we do?" Laguna asked quietly as he stared at the door his son had just exited from. 

Kiros looked at him. "Do for what?" 

"Squall is in love," Laguna explained emotionally. "It was one thing when he didn't have someone he was attached to, but now he has Rinoa. I can't, in good conscience, let him marry Kadowaki's daughter when he's in love with another woman. I couldn't do that... it would betray Julia. It would betray Raine." 

Kiros smirked. "You know the family elders won't forgive you for this..." 

"They haven't forgiven me for many things," Laguna said, suddenly determined. "They're always saying how I have to do things for the family. Well, I'll do something FOR my family this time." 

"Shall I call the Kadowakis?" Kiros asked as next to him Ward grinned. 

"The treasure will be here in a week," Laguna said, having been sent the schedule of the treasure's shipment ahead of time. "When it arrives, have the Kadowaki family join us for dinner." 

"What's going through that little brain of yours this time, Laguna?" Kiros asked as he shook his head. 

"The welfare of my son." 

* * *

Four days had passed and Laguna anxiously looked up at his calendar. He looked down at the endless papers that laid on his desk and frowned miserably. It seemed that every day the pile just grew larger and larger despite the fact that he had gone through stacks every day. 

Suddenly his phone rang. "Ah!" Laguna jumped and stared at the black phone on his desk where it's lights were blinking, signaling him. Cautiously, he picked up the phone. "Hello?" 

"President Loire?" a voice said. It was his secretary. "You have a phone call." 

"From...?" 

"A Miss Almasy, sir." Laguna tilted his head to the side. He didn't know anyone with that name. 

"All right, wire them through," Laguna said. He heard a click. "Hello?" 

"President Loire?" a female voice asked. "My name is...uh...Quisty Almasy." He heard someone behind 'Quisty' saying something like 'That's the most horrible name I've ever heard!'. 

"Miss Almasy, how can I help you?" Laguna asked, somewhat suspicious. 

"We seem have to have the same interests at heart," 'Quisty Almasy' said. "Regarding your son and one Miss Rinoa Heartilly-Caraway." 

Laguna nearly dropped the phone. "How do you know about them!?" he gasped. 

"Sir, please," the usually carefree voice said. "I'm a...friend." 

"Selphie! Give me the phone!" a voice barked behind the girl. 

"No! I can handle this!" 'Quisty' said. Laguna looked at the phone strangely. He heard struggling. "No!" 

"Give me the phone!" 

"No! I can do this!" 

"No, you can't!" the other female voice explained. "Seifer, hold her down!" 

"Hey!! No fair!!" 

"Hello, President Loire?" the second female voice sighed. "My name is Quistis Trepe. I was asked to contact you by Rinoa. I'm one of her friends." 

"Quistis Trepe..." Laguna mumbled. "Where have I heard that name before?" 

"My father owns Trepe Technologies." 

"No...I've never heard of it..." 

"My mother runs a hotel chain named after me?" 

"No...I'm sorry..." 

"I'm sorry, then, sir, I don't know how else you would know my name-" 

"Oh! I know! Zell was talking about you girls the other day. That other girl on the phone must've been Selphie!" Laguna beamed proudly. 

On the other line, Quistis looked at the phone strangely. *Can this be for real? Is this really Squall's father?* "This is President Laguna Loire, father of Squall Leonheart, right?" 

Laguna chuckled. "Yes, I am...I get that a lot." 

*Yeah, no kidding...* Quistis thought to herself. "Anyway, sir, Rinoa told us a story the other night that she asked us to relay to you-" In the background, he heard a door opening and someone apologizing for being late. "What took you so long...what? Okay fine...here." 

"Hello?" an out of breath female voice gasped. "President Loire?" 

*Hyne, she sounds just like her!* "This must be Rinoa?" Laguna whispered, unsurely. 

Despite the fact that they were on the phone, Rinoa nodded. "Yes...I'm glad I was able to get a hold of you. You were mentioned many times in my mother's diary." 

"So it's true then?" Laguna gasped out. "You really are Julia's daughter?" 

"Yes, sir," she said. "I can't be long on the phone, but I'd like to read you an excerpt from her diary...it was in the later pages...I think it'll answer any questions you might have. May I?" 

"Of course, go ahead!" Laguna gasped. 

Rinoa took a deep breath as she opened up one of the last pages of her mother's diary. She put the phone on speaker and began to read. 

_ "Dear Diary, _

Rinoa turned five today. Just by watching her, I know she's going to be a sorceress. I'm very proud of her. Tonight, when I tucked her into bed and told her favorite story, The Thief's Treasure, she asked me what if there was no treasure worthy of the princess? Does that mean that the thief's treasure is worthless? 

And I told her that even if she found nothing worthy of the princess, the treasure was far from worthless. Laguna told me those exact words and when I said them, I began to cry. It's been years since I have mentioned him. 

I feel that I must tell the truth sometime and after being asked that question by my precious daughter, I feel that I have to tell the truth because I am deeply reminded of him. 

I don't remember much about the storm, that's the truth. All I know was that the last thing I saw was Laguna, looking horrified as I was swallowed by the ocean. I didn't die...somehow, my dress caught a piece of timber that was part of the boat and I was kept afloat. 

When I woke up, I was being dragged on a military ship of Galbadia's military. Without a clue as to who I was. That's when I met General Caraway. Actually, then he was just Major Caraway. He recognized me and called me by my name, Julia Heartilly and escorted me back to my family. 

Not a word was mentioned about Laguna while they were telling me who I was. They did it on purpose, I know it. I found myself being kept from the public eye and hidden away at my private estate where I live with Rinoa while the General is away. For years, I didn't remember who I was. I was only told who I was supposed to be. It wasn't until I gave birth to Rinoa that I suddenly remembered. 

And when she was born, I was crying for more than one reason. I was told that Laguna had married and that his wife had just had a son. I was bitter and angry at him, but I realized that he had to get on with his life, though it still pains me to think about that. I told my family and chided them for not telling me my whole past. I was beyond furious and had it not been for Rinoa, I would've run to Laguna. 

I couldn't abandon my daughter. I love her. And I find myself loving the General as well. He had been kind to me when I needed it the most. I feel that I had hurt him the most when I told him I remembered Laguna. Now he distances himself from me. 

As I watch Rinoa sleep, I pray that Laguna forgives me. I truly do still love him and regret not being able to tell him that I am still alive. I hope that as he watches his son sleep, he feels the joy I feel. Laguna, I'm sorry. Please forgive me. 

- Julia Heartilly" 

Laguna was in tears. He ran his hand down his face and tried to wipe his eyes as he played the words over and over on his head. "My mother died a year after this was written," Rinoa whispered. "I'm sorry to bring up old memories, President Loire...but when I read this, I had to tell you. I want my mother's spirit to be at rest now." 

The President of Esthar closed his eyes and nodded. "I...I understand..." he whispered behind sniffles. "Thank you, Rinoa...You have no idea how much that means to me. If your mother could hear me now...I hope she knows that I do forgive her. But there was never anything to forgive." 

"I have to go now, sir," Rinoa said. "Please...don't tell Squall about this." 

"Of course, Rinoa," Laguna agreed. "Thank you." 

She hung up and Laguna slowly put the phone back in it's place. He closed his eyes tightly and covered his face with his hands. So Julia never meant to hurt him. She had lost her memory and lived with the guilt of feeling she abandoned him for years after. 

He looked up at the pictures on his desk. Right next to a picture of Raine was a picture of Julia. Somehow, it didn't seem a bad thing for him to have both pictures there, watching him. "This is your way of telling me I should do something, isn't it?" he asked the pictures as tears rimmed his eyes. He looked down at the wedding ring he still wore. Julia had been happy and that put his mind at ease. Raine had loved him and had Squall upon the realization that he loved her. And that put his mind at ease as well. 

There was a knock on the door. "The date is set!" Kiros said behind the door. "The Kadowakis will be here!" 

Laguna looked up and nodded. "Thank you, Kiros," he said. "I'm prepared this time." 

* * *

Squall looked at himself in the mirror. He was wearing a suit, which he hated. He narrowed his eyes. He really didn't want to have to actually face Dr. Kadowaki. The woman was scary. Someone knocked at his door. 

"Squall, you ready?" Irvine said. Squall had reluctantly asked both him and Zell to join him and his family there that evening. For support. 

"I'll be right down," Squall said. He looked at the little framed picture of him and Rinoa on his dresser. He took a deep breath and turned around. He opened the door and found his two friends standing there encouragingly. "Is everything ready?" 

"Everything is set." Irvine said with a nod of his head. 

"Good luck, Squall!" Zell smiled, trying to be supportive. Squall merely nodded, knowing deep down that Zell didn't want this marriage to happen as much as he did. 

The trio walked down the hall and then down the stairs. As they walked down the hall to the dining room, they could hear the soft piano music being played as entertainment for the guests. They entered the dining room to find a long table, draped with a white table cloth and candles. Expensive plates lined the table as everyone in the room turned to the double doors where the trio stood. 

Immediately, Squall headed over to greet Dr. Kadowaki. He bowed his head as he took her hand and kissed the back of it. "Good evening, doctor," he stated rigidly. He looked past her. Sure enough, there was the girl who worked at the library. Her brown hair was in clipped back from her face and wavy, probably from the pig tails she usually wore. "And this must be your lovely daughter." 

"Yes, Squall," Kadowaki said. She turned, dressed in a black evening gown, to her daughter, dressed in navy blue. "Dear, this is Squall Loire. Your fiancée." 

"A pleasure to meet you..." she said quietly, her eyes downcast. 

"Same to you," Squall said. He shook her hand slowly and glanced over at Zell, who had a pained look on his face. He took a deep breath. "Shall we begin dinner?" 

"I would like to discuss the issue of the dowry first, Squall," Dr. Kadowaki stated. "Your father said you have returned successful." 

Squall looked over at his father, who stood quietly to one side. Several family elders were near by, watching them both like hawks. "Of course, doctor," Squall said. "Now that everyone is here, I'd like to present you with samples from the dowry itself." 

Kadowaki raised an eyebrow as Squall signaled Irvine. Irvine nodded and stepped out into the hall. "Bring them in!" he shouted. 

A dozen golden serving carts were rolled into the room. There was a large silver tray with a cover over it on each one. As they were lined up in behind Squall, Kadowaki and the elders watched with interest. Squall raised his hand and the servants lifted the covers at once. 

Murmurs went through the room as four plates contained gold bricks, four other plates contained silver bars, and the last four plates contained mounds of precious stone. "These are merely a sample," Squall said. "Two barges containing more have already docked at the Estharian military base to be transported to wherever you please." 

"What do you think, doctor?" one of the elders asked nervously. 

Kadowaki looked over the trays of gold, silver, and jewels. She brought her hand to her chin and rubbed it thoughtfully. She nodded and extended her hand towards Squall. "Excellent work, Squall. You certainly have proven yourself. I approve." 

The entire room began to clap as Squall shook Kadowaki's hand. Laguna decided to was time to step it. "Dr. Kadowaki-" he began, Squall cut him off. 

"Dr. Kadowaki, I present this dowry to your daughter on behalf of Zell Dincht, heir to Dincht Enterprises." Squall stated. 

"WHAT!?" an elder gasped in shock. 

"Pardon me?" Kadowaki asked, looking confused as she pulled her hand away. Her daughter turned to the spiky haired blond who was looking immensely shocked in the corner. 

"Zell!" she gasped. She picked up the skirt of her dress and began to run towards him. 

"My dear!" Kadowaki gasped, horrified as her daughter ran across the room and threw her arms around the blond man. 

"I have not proven myself to anyone," Squall explained. "It was ZELL who has. He helped me attain the treasure." 

"But...but the alliance!" Kadowaki gasped. 

"I'm sure you'll find that an alliance with the Dincht family is just as iron clad as the alliance with my family," Squall said smugly. "He is a close friend and like a brother to me." 

"Squall..." Laguna smiled proudly. Irvine was leaning against the door way, grinning from ear to ear as Ellone stood by him, confused, but pleased. 

"I don't understand..." Kadowaki mumbled. "You went through all that trouble for a dowry for my daughter from ANOTHER man?" 

"No, Dr. Kadowaki," Squall said. "I went through all that trouble for a dowry for her from me. However, I'm afraid that I fell in love with someone else while searching for it." 

"Fell in love!?" the elders growled. They immediately turned to Laguna with scornful looks. "Laguna! This is all your fault! Like father like son-" 

"I am NOTHING like my father!" Squall growled, attracting their attention. "Dr. Kadowaki," he said, addressing the woman in a powerful tone. "With an alliance to the Dincht, you have an alliance with the Loire and Leonheart. I can assure you that." 

"But...my daughter..." Kadowaki began. 

"She's been in love with Zell since we went to school at the Garden," Irvine laughed behind them. "And Zell's had this huge crush on her since then, too." 

Zell was now in the cornering, holding Dr. Kadowaki's daughter's hands and blushing as he admitting his feelings. She blushed and threw her arms around him, giving him a hug as he blushed even more. "Laguna-" the elders began as they advanced on the president. 

He shook his head. "No! If my son doesn't want to marry someone, he shouldn't have to! He should marry the person he's in love with!" 

"You married someone who you were arranged to marry, YOU have no room to talk-" 

"I loved Raine!" Laguna growled. "I may have loved Julia as well, but I loved Raine with my heart and soul, Hyne rest her soul! Don't you EVER question how I felt about her!" His eyes were lit with emotion as he glared at the elders. 

The elders took a step back and Squall looked at his father in surprise. He sounded so serious. Not like the whiny moron who nearly cried when his cat got stuck in a tree. "Uncle..." Ellone said with admiration. 

"Laguna," a voice said from the door way. Laguna looked over to the doorway where Kiros was standing. "You have a telephone call." 

"Not know, Kiros-" Laguna began tiredly. 

"It's from a Heartilly elder." Kiros cut him off. The entire room went silent and all eyes were on Laguna. He swallowed hard. 

His last talk with a Heartilly family elder had ended in death threats and escalation of the feud's status. It had been over twenty years since he had last talked to one. "What...what do they want?" 

Kiros looked around the room at the eyes that were on him. "Amazingly enough...they want to talk about peace." 

* * *

Laguna had been working round the clock for two months. He, Kiros, and Ward had been traveling to meetings in Deling City, Galbadia for days at a time. The whole issue of peace had been kept quiet. The elders had wanted to deal with it, but Laguna refused their request. 

The Heartilly had chosen to talk to him specifically for a reason and demanded only to speak to Laguna on the issues of peace for those unsaid reasons. Squall had stood in the shadows, more concerned with whether or not his sister would actually get engaged now that he had refused an arranged marriage. 

So far, the elders had not stepped forward to make good on their threat and Ellone was still single. She was busying herself with helping with the preparations for Zell's upcoming wedding. 

Zell himself was on cloud nine most of the time. He spent much of his time getting to know his future wife better. He had been incredibly happy when she was impressed with his ability to eat hot dogs at record times. Luckily for Zell, his mother had approved of the marriage and openly welcomed Dr. Kadowaki's daughter into her family. 

Irvine was working at his uncle's business - a law firm. Unknown to many people, Irvine, the play boy and gun slinger, came from a long line of lawyers. When he wasn't at the firm, he was on the phone with Selphie. She filled him in on the rest of the group but Irvine never relayed the news to Squall. 

Squall had started to keep to himself even more. One night, Laguna called him into his office. As the young man entered, he looked over at his father. Kiros and Ward, who were his father's constant shadows, were not there. 

"I received the final clause to the peace treaty today," Laguna said as Squall sat down in front of him. "It involves you once again." 

Squall mentally swore. "What now?" 

"One of the Heartilly heiresses..." Laguna began. He leaned forward, unsure of how to say it. "I don't know her name...is pregnant." 

Squall raised an eyebrow. "So?" 

Laguna looked at his son. "You know how bad it seems when a daughter of a family like the Heartillys has a child out of wedlock," Laguna explained. "They need her married fast and to a son of a respectable family-" 

"So they want me to marry the pregnant heiress?" Squall concluded. He shook his head. "No." 

"I knew you were going to say that-" 

"Then tell them no." Squall insisted with narrowed eyes. 

"This isn't as easy as Kadowaki-" 

"You called that EASY!?" Squall gasped. "That was the hardest thing I've ever had to do!" 

"Squall, this could make or break the feud!" Laguna insisted. 

"That could be her cousin!" Squall yelled as he stood up. "I don't know who that woman is! For all I know, she's Rinoa's cousin! I'm in LOVE with Rinoa! I could NEVER do that to her!" 

"Squall..." Laguna whispered as he squinted his eyes. "Rinoa's the one who's been arranging all of this..." 

The young man froze in his spot. "What...?" 

"When they left the port, they headed back to Galbadia," Laguna explained softly. "Rinoa said she would return to her family if they established peace with ours. She's been pleading and negotiating with her family's elders for the past two months." 

"But why?" Squall whispered. "She knows I love her, why would you have me marry someone else?" 

"It wasn't Rinoa's idea!" Laguna sighed. "It's insane to think that she would every suggest such a thing. But it's her family's idea." 

"I can't do that!" 

"She's already given the blessing," Laguna admitted. Squall's face paled of all color. "The document she sent over stated that she would agree to it provided that the peace was solidified." 

"No..." Squall said in denial. He shook his head. "No, she wouldn't..." 

"Squall-" 

"No!" he gasped. He took a step back. "I REFUSE to marry someone I don't love! Even if Rinoa did give her blessing, it means NOTHING to me unless she's the one I'm marrying!" 

Laguna diverted his eyes. "It's all already been agreed," the president said painfully. "She'll be here tomorrow to meet you." 

"You bastard..." Squall said, shaking his head. "After everything...you'd still pull this..." 

"Squall, please-" 

Squall merely shook his head and turned around. Laguna called after him, but Squall continued to walk and threw open the door. In a swift motion, he slammed it closed. "That's not quite the reaction I was going for..." a voice trailed off with a heavy sigh. Laguna looked down on at the phone, which had been on speaker. 

"I'm sorry you had to hear that." he sighed. 

"It's all right," the voice said. "The peace is as good as here." 

* * *

"Squall!" Irvine pounded on Squall's door. It was early in the morning. Squall looked over at his clock on his night stand and mentally swore. He hadn't gotten any sleep the night before. "Squall, open up!!" 

He knew that Irvine would not stop until he got his way. So Squall gave in and threw his blankets off his boxer clad body and headed for the door. He unlocked it and tore it open, glaring at Irvine as he opened it. "WHAT!?" 

"Selphie and the others are in town!" Irvine exclaimed. "They arrived last night!" 

"What!?" Squall gasped. "Why didn't you tell me this earlier!?" 

"I just got a call this morning!" Irvine said with a beaming smile. "Hurry up and get dressed! Selphie's waiting!" 

Within a few minutes, Squall and Irvine were rushing down the stairs. Ellone was walking towards the stairs. "Squall!" she gasped in surprise. "Squall, where are you going!?" 

"Out!" Squall shouted up the stairs. 

"Wait!" Ellone gasped. "Squall, you can't go!" The door slammed closed and Ellone was left half way down the stairs, staring at the door. "She'll be here any minute..." 

"Where is Squall?" a voice asked behind her. She turned and saw Laguna walking down in khakis and a buttoned up shirt, smiling brightly. 

"He just left, uncle." Ellone sighed. 

Laguna's eyes went large. "Left? Left where? When will he be back?" he gasped. 

"I don't know, he didn't say..." Ellone admitted. She ran her hand through her hair. "Hyne...Squall..." 

Outside, Squall jumped into Irvine's car as the cowboy started it. He revved the engine and turned up the music. "You didn't have anything important to do today, did you?" 

Squall merely shook his head. "No. Nothing." 

"Good!" Irvine said. He grinned as he put his hand on the steering wheel and stepped on the gas. "Selphie, here I come!" 

As they peeled out of the drive way and headed for the gates, they passed by a long black limo that was entering. It had tinted windows and Irvine let out a whistle. *That must be her...* Squall thought to himself. 

"You SURE you had nothing to do today?" Irvine insisted. Squall nodded. 

"Let's just go." 

* * *

Selphie hadn't changed in the few months that they hadn't seen her. As Irvine drove up to the hotel they were staying, a blur of yellow topped with upturned brown hair flew out of it's doors and into Irvine's awaiting arms. 

"IRVY!!" Selphie shouted with joy as she threw her arms around his neck and showered him with kisses. 

"Selphie!" he sighed as he held on to her tightly. "I missed you so much!" 

"I missed you, too, Irvy!" 

"Look who I dragged along with me!" Irvine said with a grin. Selphie looked over his shoulder at Squall, who was casually walking up behind. 

Selphie smiled brightly. "Squall!" she gasped cheerfully. "How are you doing!?" 

"I'm fine," he mumbled. He looked around, unsure of what to do. "How are you?" 

"I'm great!" Selphie piped. "Oh! The whole gang is here!" she said happily. "They're inside, in the lobby! Follow me!" 

She grabbed on to Irvine's hand and dragged him into the hotel. Squall followed slowly behind him, wondering if Rinoa would be there. As they entered, they spotted several familiar looking people sitting around the couches in the lobby of the expensive hotel. 

"Hey!" Irvine laughed as he saw all of them. 

They turned around and one by one stood up, smiling. Quistis was the first to greet them, smiling happily. "How are you both doing?" Quistis asked. 

"Doing great now!" Irvine said as he put his arm around Selphie's waist and pulled her against him. "So the whole gang's here, huh?" 

"Where's Zell?" Fujin asked. "With girlfriend?" 

"Like always," Irvine said, rolling his eyes. "He's never around any more...but hey, that's they way of a married man." 

"It's good to see you two, ya know!" Raijin said. He waved from where he was sitting. 

"Yeah...right..." Seifer grumbled. "I didn't want to come." 

"We didn't want you to come either," Selphie stuck her tongue out at him. "But you didn't want to let your wife come alone." 

"Oh, yeah! How as the ceremony, anyway?" Irvine said. "Sorry we couldn't make it." 

"You weren't invited." Seifer snapped. 

Quistis rolled her eyes. "It was just a small little ceremony, Irvine," she assured him. "You didn't miss much." 

"You two were already married?" Squall asked, looking at them curiously. 

"Didn't you tell him?" Quistis said, looking at Irvine. She chuckled softly and smiled at Squall. "We got married a month ago in Winhill." 

"We just got back from our honeymoon and Selphie dragged us HERE." Seifer grumbled as he raised his hands in the air. 

Squall looked at all of them. He had already noticed who was missing the moment he stepped through the doors. Selphie and Quistis both noticed the way his eyes looked around the room. 

"Irvine," Selphie sighed. "Didn't you tell Squall?" 

"Tell him what, darlin'?" Irvine asked as he smiled intently at her. 

"About Rinoa," Selphie said. Irvine's mouth made a little 'o' and Selphie shook her head. She turned to Squall. "Sorry, Squall...we kind of parted ways with Rinoa." 

"She went back to her family, didn't she?" Squall asked. *Of course she wouldn't be here. She's in Galbadia trying to forge peace treaties. That's more important that this...* 

"Yeah," Selphie nodded. "She's doing good though! She's really getting somewhere with the peace between the families." 

Squall nodded. Sensing the tension in the air, Quistis cut in. "So why don't we all go out to breakfast and then you two can give us a tour of Esthar?" she suggested "It's the most technologically advanced city in the world, we'd love to get a look around." 

"I'd like to go back to bed." Seifer countered. Quistis shot him a glare. 

"You're here already, you might as well enjoy it!" she hissed threateningly. 

He merely shrugged. Irvine grinned and nodded. "Sure thing!" he agreed. "Afterwards, we can go clubbing!" 

"Yay! Clubbing!" Selphie piped. 

Squall sighed. "Do you guys like the hotel?" he asked. 

"The price is a little steep," Quistis sighed. "But it's a good quality hotel." 

"Hey! Why don't we all stay at the palace?" Irvine exclaimed. "Hey, Squall is that okay?" 

*I could use some people there to get my mind off of that Heartilly heiress...* Squall thought to himself. He nodded. "Give me your room numbers," he stated. "I'll have your things brought over to the palace." 

* * *

"Whoo!" Selphie shouted as she jumped out of Irvine's car. Behind them, the rental that Quistis had brought parked on the drive way of the palace. "We HAVE to go to that club again!" 

"Glad you liked it, darlin," Irvine winked as he got out of his car. Squall came out of the back seat, where he had been sitting and forced to listen to Selphie's constant 'train song'. "Here we are!" 

"It's huge!" Selphie gasped excitedly as she looked up at the structure. "There's got to be like a bazillion rooms in there!" 

"One hundred fifty," Squall shrugged. "Let's go." 

"Are you sure this is all right, Squall?" Quistis asked as they followed him up the stairs. "Your father won't mind?" 

"Whatever." Squall shrugged once more. He unlocked the door and stepped in. 

"Where were you!?" a voice gasped from the foyer. Yellow hall lights flooded his senses as he blinked rapidly. 

Behind him the people also blinked and took a step back. "Sis?" Squall said. 

"We've been waiting all day!" Laguna's voice cut through. Squall narrowed his eyes and focused them on the two people waiting for them. 

"All day?" Irvine said. He turned to look at Squall. "You said you had nothing to do today!" 

"Nothing to do!?" Laguna gasped. He ran his hand through his hair. "She's been waiting here since this morning, right after you left! Your cellular phone was turned off and we couldn't reach you!" 

"I was out with some friends." Squall said, motioning to the company. 

"Uh..." Selphie said, surely. "Hello?" 

Ellone let out a heavy sigh. "You must be the people whose things were sent over earlier today..." 

"We're sorry to trouble you," Quistis began with a frown. "We can take our things back and-" 

"Quistis Trepe?" Laguna suddenly asked, recognizing her voice. 

The blond looked at him. "It's now Quistis Almasy, Mr. President." 

He nodded and extended his hand. She took his and shook it. "And this must be Selphie..." he said, looking at the petite brunette. He shook her hand as well. 

"Nice to meet you, sir!" Selphie piped cheerfully. "This Seifer Almasy, Quisty's husband, and our friends Raijin and Fujin." 

"Hello." Fujin said with a nod of her head. 

"Nice to meet you, sir, ya know!" Raijin said with a smile. 

"Sir." Seifer said, merely nodding his head to acknowledge the man. 

"Irvine," Ellone said. "Can you please take them to their rooms? On the west wing of the second floor. We'd like to talk to Squall privately for just a moment." 

Irvine nodded. "Sure thing," he said. With his arm draped around Selphie's shoulder, he waved his hand. "Follow me, guys!" 

The group followed Irvine up the stairs and turned the corner. As soon as they were out of sight, Ellone and Laguna turned back to Squall. "The girl is pregnant, Squall!" Ellone gasped. "She shouldn't be forced to wait up for you until all hours of the night!" 

Squall merely turned his head away indifferently. "I told you, I'm not marrying her. She's gone now and there's nothing you can do to change that." 

"She's not gone, Squall," Ellone sighed. "She was tired and so retired early." 

Squall's eyes went wide before they narrowed angrily. "She's still HERE?" 

"She's asleep in your room." Laguna replied. Squall's eyes grew even angrier. 

"WHY?" he hissed in a low and calculated voice. 

"It's where she requested to go," Laguna said. Squall shut them out of his mind as he walked past them and headed up the stairs. "Squall!" 

Ellone put her hand on her uncle's shoulder and shook her head. "He has to deal with it sometime, uncle." she said. Laguna let out a heavy breath and nodded. Squall reached the top of the stairs and turned to the east wing, where is room was located. 

Angrily, he walked down the long corridor. *How DARE she? Who does she think she is, waltzing into my life and taking over! I don't care if she IS related to Rinoa and pregnant!* He reached his door and put his hand on the knob. Throwing it open, he looked into the darkened room. 

The windows on the eastern wall were open, allowing a cool breeze to flow into the room. As it swept past him, he was suddenly, once again, reminded of Rinoa. He froze in his spot. He had just been so angry earlier and now, after a split second memory of HER, he lost all his anger. 

Something brushed against his leg and he looked down. "Angelo!?" he gasped. The door looked up at him, panting and looking as if he were smiling. "What are you...?" He looked towards his bed. The large bed was richly furnished with dark blue sheets and blankets. To the side closest to the door was a bump in it's flat surface. 

Squall felt his heart pounding as he closed the door behind him. Slowly, he walked over to the bed. He swallowed hard as he saw the body move under the sheets. As he came closer, he began to make out the features of the person on the bed. 

He stopped a few feet from the side as the young woman on the bed turned over to her back. She turned her head towards him and he felt his heart stop. Her brown eyes blinked as she woke up and smiled softly. 

"Hey," she said softly. "You're late." 

Squall's eyes went wide as he ran towards the bed. She sat up and smiled widely as she held her arms open. He fell on the bed next to her and wrapped his arms around her body as he pulled her against him. 

He closed his eyes tightly as he pressed his head against her and caressed her hair over and over. "Tell me I'm not dreaming..." he whispered quietly as he felt her arms go around his body. "Tell me you're really here..." 

"I'm really here..." she whispered back. She closed her eyes as tears went down her face. 

He pulled away from her and studied her face intently. His hands cupped her pale features as his thumbs rubbed her tears away. "I missed you..." he gasped out. A smile caressed his face as he lowered his head to meet hers. 

She closed her eyes and clung on to him. He parted from her and pressed his forehead against hers. His eyes were closed as he prayed that he wasn't dreaming. Rinoa smiled and lifted her hands to touch his face. Her left hand cupped his face and he noticed the glistening diamonds on her finger. 

He looked at them and then back at her. "Your promised..." she reminded him with a timid smile. "Always..." 

He nodded slowly and embraced her once more. Entangled in each other's arms, Squall lost himself in her once more. Long moments later, he looked over at her as she leaned her head against her shoulder. "I am marrying YOU, right?" he asked. 

Rinoa rolled her eyes. "Yes, meany!" she exclaimed tiredly. "No one else in my family is two months pregnant without a husband." 

"Two months..." he gasped. *Two months ago we...oh Hyne! That baby's MINE!* His eyes went wide. "I'm going to be a...?" 

"And more." 

He pulled her closer and held her. "Hyne, I love you..." 

Squall closed his eyes as Rinoa laid against him. The cool breeze went over their bodies. "When I was little and I asked my mom what the Thief's Treasure was, she said she wasn't sure..." he heard Rinoa whisper as she drifted on into sleep. She clung on to him as their fingers entangled in each other. "But I figured it out for myself..." 

"What was it?" Squall whispered. 

"The Thief's Treasure wasn't material. It never was. The material goods were just to coax the searcher to search. It was a treasure that you had to go through heaven and through hell for first," she sighed. She closed her eyes and smiled. "The Thief's Treasure is love." 

Squall slowly let her words sink in and nodded. "Then we never had to leave the dock...I found the treasure the moment I saw you." 

* * *

**THE END**

  
  


* * *

**Author's Notes, Thanks & Credits**

**Notes**

Several of you asked about the age thing. Here is my train of thought (I hope it makes sense) It's Laguna and Julia's ages at certain points and a list of years later...:   
Laguna (20) & Julia (20) - Shipwreck at sea, Julia is presumed dead Laguna (24) & Raine (about the same age) - Arranged to be married Laguna (25) & Raine (about the same age) - Married Julia (23) & Caraway (older than her) - Married Julia (27) - Has Rinoa Laguna (27) - Has Squall Twenty Years Later - Squall (20) & Rinoa (20) meet for the first time on the _Siren_. 

Yes, Squall and Rinoa are twenty years old, but I'm assuming that Laguna and Julia had them when they were in their late twenties. After all, Laguna was in mourning over her supposed death and Julia was confused and lost her memory. So that's why I wrote that it was just under three decades (30 years) since Julia died. I hope that clears things up a bit. ^_^ 

_Further Explanations In Case I Wasn't Clear_

Julia did not die. She survived the sinking ship and was pulled on to a military vessel where she met Caraway. She lost her memory and knew only what they told her (that she was Julia Heartilly and she was part of their family, but not that she was in love with Laguna). She regained her memory during the moment of Rinoa's birth, but decided not to come forward because she wanted to be their for her daughter. Up until Rinoa's birth, Julia was kept hidden away from the public in order to keep her being alive a secret and prevent Laguna from coming after her. 

Rinoa was not really raped. She woke up and Guado was about to rape her, but she killed him before he actually could do the deed. Therefore, she lost her virginity to Squall. Also, in this chapter where Laguna talks to Squall about marrying the Heartilly heir and Squall storms out, the person on the speaker phone was Rinoa. She's the one that's two months pregnant, which is the reason she gave her blessing to Squall's marriage. Did you really think I'd make them marry other people after all of that? Hehehe... (wink). 

**Thanks & Credits**

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has given their time to read over this story. I really appreciate it and hope that you all enjoyed it. I'm sorry if it was too long. I know it's about 16 or more pages if you print it out. At any rate, I'd like to give all the reviewers a big thanks for reading the story up to this point. I hope you enjoyed it! If you guys have any questions about the story or are confused at one point, feel free to email me or leave a review with a question. I'm always happy to answer. ^_^   
Take Care!  
-PasifiKStaR 


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